Roller SiteA default install of the Roller Weblogger open source blog serverhttp://www.thecommguild.com/roller2018-11-19T18:30:52+00:00Apache Roller Webloggerhttp://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-tutorial-flight-base-shippingTerrain Tutorial: Flight Base Shipping Cratesinsaniak2018-11-19T17:00:00+00:002018-11-19T18:30:52+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a699a436-7e10-47bd-9f92-2ac7230bf68a" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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This week's modeling article came about more or less by accident! I have a bunch of flight bases left over from the Epirian Drone kit, as it comes with both 45mm bases for Spider Drones, and flight bases for Firefly Drones. I discovered when sorting out some bases in a mixed box of bits that the 25mm round bases fit quite neatly inside the bottom of the flight base, creating a pretty neat little detail effect, and I thought: I need to do something with that!
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And so I did - multi-purpose shipping crates:
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This is a really quick and easy build. You'll need two flight base bottom pieces, two 25mm bases, some thin cardboard (I'm using part of a manilla folder here, but cereal packet or similar thin card or even some thin plasticard would do just fine) and a computer terminal from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue. That last bit is optional, as the crates will still look perfectly functional without it, but it does help to finish it off and give it that definite sci-fi stamp!
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First, cut the cardboard into a strip - the width of the cardboard is the length of the crate. I've gone with 50mm long crates, as that seemed like a good size, but you could make them longer or shorter (or even do a mix of sizes) if you choose. Mark out six 15mm increments along the strip and lightly score with a sharp hobby knife, and cut the cardboard off about 5 or 6mm past the last one. Cut the corners of that last, shorter increment off at 45 degrees, as below:
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Fold along each score line to create a hexagonal tube.
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Apply superglue to the inside of one end of the tube, and wrap it around one of the flight bases, with the base bottom facing out, so that the end of the tube lines up flush with the bottom of the base.
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Repeat for the other end, and this time also glue the short tab on the end of the cardboard inside the corresponding edge of the tube.
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Glue a 25mm base, bottom facing out, inside each of the flight bases. The arc markers on the 25mm base line up with two corners of the flight base. If you're not using Maelstrom's Edge bases for this, it still works, you just won't have the extra bit of detail from the arc markers. Some bases also have branding stamps on the bottom - you could use these the other way around, for a slightly different look.
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Finally, glue the computer terminal in one end.
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Add some paint, and your cargo crates are ready for the table!
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Printing out some shipping company names and gluing them on the sides is a great way to add some extra detail and make them look authentic!
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To build your own shipping crates, you can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue (and 25mm bases!) along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/maelstrom-s-edge-fictionMaelstrom's Edge Fictioninsaniak2018-11-19T00:00:48+00:002018-11-19T00:00:48+00:00When creating the Maelstrom's Edge game, we wanted a universe that felt real and 'lived in', and that people would want to revisit and build in their games. With that in mind, we set about creating a wealth of background material to guide the creation of the game, and then expanded on that by approaching various authors to flesh out the Maelstrom's Edge setting. The end result of that is a slowly growing collection of fiction that we're extremely proud of.
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Our first releases were our novels, 'Faith' and 'Sacrifice', which tell the story of two of the factions battling it out for control of Zycanthus, a planet a few tens of lightyears from the Maelstrom's Edge. The corporate Epirian Foundation owners of the world are trying to extract what resources they can in the last few decades before Zycanthus is destroyed by the Maelstrom. The secretive religious extremists of the Karist Enclave however, have identified Zycanthus as a key world for conversion to their beliefs - that the Maelstrom is not the end of everything, but the beginning of a new age for mankind - that if they prepare their souls for the Maelstrom's embrace, they will ascend to a new plane of existence.
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In the first novel, 'Faith', Epirian Sheriff Kyle Wynn is ambushed in the desert by a Karist landing party and left for dead. He begins to uncover just how deep and wide the Karist infiltration of Zycanthus goes - and how dangerous it might be. Meanwhile Karist priestess Zafah has travelled to the world to try and teach people of the salvation that Ascension can bring - but the reaction of the Epirian security forces to her missionary work forces her to consider more direct methods of teaching the people the Karist Way. With both sides adamant that their way is best, the stakes are raised for a cataclysmic battle for control of the Zycanthus star system in the second book, 'Sacrifice'.
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Our short story compilations, 'Tales from the Edge: Emergence' and 'Tales from the Edge: Escalation' take a closer look at an assortment of different settings along the Edge.
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'Emergence' includes eight short stories stories by Tomas Martin, Stephen Gaskell and Andrew Everett, which explore the conflict and intrigue amongst the stars near the Maelstrom's Edge. <br><br>
Stephen Gaskell's novelette 'Transit' tells of a young boy discovering the Maelstrom is coming to his world, whilst 'The Kaddar Nova' depicts the devotion and fanaticism of the most dedicated of the Karist Enclave's apocalyptic priesthood.
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Tomas L. Martin's stories 'The Shipyard', 'The Scarecrow' and 'The Hunter' delve into the background of the corporate Epirian Foundation and their robotic guardians.
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'Scraps' by Andrew Everett, 'Crisis Point' by Stephen Gaskell and 'Static Prevails' by Thomas L.Martin explore the conflict and intrigue amongst the stars near the Maelstrom's Edge.
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'Escalation' is the second short story collection, and goes even deeper into the chaos of the Edge with stories by Alastair Reynolds, Aliette de Bodard, Liz Williams, and other accomplished scif-fi authors.<br><br>
'Remainers', by Alastair Reynolds follows the return of a starship captain to a world doomed by the Maelstrom on the behest of a mysterious client.
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In Rob Ziegler's 'Little Bots', a group of orphans scheme and sneak their way into a plot to escape their dying world, whilst Jeff Carlson's 'The Spaces Between Us' looks at the challenge of the Maelstrom's approach from another direction - if a world is lost, do we have a duty to save what makes it unique?
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Jaine Fenn's 'Over You' and Tomas L. Martin's 'Fleet Champion' explore the honour-bound existence of the Remnant Fleet's Champions. The Remnant is all that's left of the Artarian civilisation fleeing the destruction of their homeworlds by the Maelstrom, and rely on their exo-suited Champions to secure the resources they need to survive - by force if necessary.
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Nebula, Locus and SFWA award-winning author Aliette de Bodard tells a tale of the aftermath of an attack by the Karist Enclave on an Epirian Foundation world in 'Losses We Bear'. The topic of the Karist Enclave is also explored in Stephen Gaskell's 'A Keeper's Duty', where a young apprentice must learn to control the power of the unpredictable aliens known as the Angels.
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Jonathan Cooper's 'The Daughter of Arin' presents a challenge when a Comm Guild courier arrives with an unexpected package, whilst stories from Philip K. Dick Award nominated authors Karin Lowachee and Liz Williams explore the ragtag rebels of the Broken and the challenges confronted by those who have nothing but the clothes on their backs in 'The Flesh of the World' and 'Moon Desert'.
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The stories within this volume explore the tangled and desperate politics of the civilisations on the Maelstrom's Edge, from passionate revolutionaries to devout missionaries. The array of bestselling and award-winning writing talent will take you on journeys to planets where every decision can be the difference between survival and destruction.
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These four books are all available in print through the Maelstrom's Edge webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp">here</a>, or you can find eBook versions on Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=i%3Astripbooks-intl-ship%2Cn%3A16272%2Ck%3AMaelstrom%27s+Edge&keywords=Maelstrom%27s+Edge&ie=UTF8&qid=1542583423&rnid=1000">here</a>.
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The Maelstrom's Edge webstore also has available Audiobook versions of a selection of the short stories from 'Tales from the Edge: Emergence', with two more chapters in the story started in 'Transit' to come in the near future.
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With so much more of the Edge still to explore, we hope you enjoy diving into our galaxy as much as we did creating it!
http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/website-update-printable-unit-cardsWebsite Update - Printable Unit Cards!insaniak2018-11-15T19:08:56+00:002018-11-15T19:08:56+00:00The Maelstrom's Edge website has an online unit card viewer (which you can find <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp">here</a>), allowing you to see the stats, options and special rules for each uit in the game.
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As part of our ongoing upgrade to the website, we have now also added printable PDF card compilations for each faction. You can find these in the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/53/Unit%20Cards/">Rules</a> section, along with the summary sheets, samples force rosters and gameplay tutorials!
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</center>http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/conversion-spotlight-rules-gnolti-berserkerConversion Spotlight & Rules: Gnolti Berserker!insaniak2018-11-12T18:00:00+00:002018-11-12T18:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a699a436-7e10-47bd-9f92-2ac7230bf68a" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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Big, burly, slow to anger but nigh on unstoppable when they get rolling, the Gnolti is an impressive sight on the table, and is one of my favourite models. A while back, I got to thinking about the different ways that the ongoing battles around the Maelstrom's Edge would affect these massive, generally peaceful aliens, and started exploring this with my <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-converted-gnolti-longhorn">'Longhorn' conversion</a>. At the other end of the scale from the implacable veteran, I thought it would be an interesting contrast to have a much younger Gnolti who handles the constant call to arms in a much more <i>direct</i> fashion - and so the Gnolti Berserker was born:
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As with my previous Gnolti conversions, this was built from the standard Gnolti model.
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I wanted to give him a charging pose, as this guy was definitely not the 'sit back and take a breather' type of fighter! So I started by cutting the left leg off with a razor saw, and then reattaching it with the leg pivoted to the rear.
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In place of the Gnolti's normal field generating bucklers, I thought it would be fun to give the berserker an array of scavenged blades to fight with. Using a sharp exacto knife, I cut off the existing detail from the shields, added some cracks and dents, and glued on some blades cut from the resin casting tab that the parts came on. (Waste not, want not!) As the left hand's fingers are slightly flattened on the bottom where they normally sit on the base, I also reshaped these by carefully rounding them off with the knife and adding in some knuckle lines.
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For my Longhorn, I had gone with the idea that the Gnolti's horns would grow as they age. Running that idea backwards, a younger Gnolti would therefore need shorter horns. I figured that reducing his beard would also be fitting, and so I cut away the back couple of sections of the horns, removed all of his beard, and also sliced open the mouth with a razor saw and, holding it under some hot water, carefully bent it open.
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I used 'Green Stuff' putty to replace the missing detail around his neck where the horns and beard were originally, resculpted a smaller beard and added a layer over the lower lip to reshape it.
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Similarly, I filled in the gap created by re-posing the leg, and also removed the blanket roll from the Gnolti's back just to create a little visual difference from the others, and sculpted in new draped cloth in its place.
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Finally, I glued on the arms and did a little final gap-filling where the reposing of the arms caused them to not fit flush at the elbow joints.
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Painting was largely the same as my <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-converted-broken-gnolti">original Gnolti conversion</a>, although I used a very slightly darker grey on the scales and made his beard a brighter orange.
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Conversions are only part of the fun, of course - What about getting the models on the table? You can find unofficial rules cards for the Gnolti Longhorn and Gnolti Berserker in the Force List section of the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=3">here</a>, or download a printable version in the 'Unofficial Cards' PDF compilation <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/download?file=Unofficial%20Cards.pdf">here</a>.
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If you want to give them a try but aren't as confident in your converting, you can very easily use the standard Gnolti model as a fill-in - for the Berserker, paint him without the light on the shields and maybe make him a bit dirtier, and for the Longhorn just glue on an appropriate gun in the right hand, and you're good to go!
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Family Shot!
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To put together your own mountain of xenos rage, you can pick up the Gnolti kit along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-generator-made-fromTerrain Spotlight: Generator Made From Bubblegum Tape Dispensers!insaniak2018-11-05T18:00:00+00:002018-11-05T18:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a699a436-7e10-47bd-9f92-2ac7230bf68a" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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One of the most enjoyable aspects of terrain building for me is to find everyday things that, with a little bit of tinkering, suddenly turn into something that looks at home on the battlefield. This has resulted in me spending more time than is healthy wandering through hardware stores and discount shops looking for new fodder for the workbench - it's often a little surprising where that perfect next project piece will show up.
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This week's build is based on an idea that I have come across in several different incarnations online, and thought it looked too cool to not try it out. So after a quick trip to the local grocery store, I found myself building a generator out of bubblegum tape dispensers!
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I picked up two packs of grape-flavoured Hubba Bubba. Obviously, the flavour doesn't make any difference to the build, but if you're buying bubblegum anyway, is there any logical reason to buy any flavour <i>other</i> than grape?
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The first step was to remove the bubblegum from the packs, and remove the labels. The labels mostly peeled off easily, but needed a little cleanup with some Tea Tree Oil to remove the sticky residue - If you don't have access to Tea Tree Oil, use whatever local equivalent you have for cleaning sticky residue off things.
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Then I may have got momentarily distracted...
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One side of the pack has an internal ridge running down each long side of the opening, and a pair of tongues that close over into the other half. These needed to be removed, which I did with a sharp exacto knife. They're made from a fairly soft plastic, so cut easily.
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This left four almost-identical, semi-circular pieces.
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To join the segments together, I took four 25mm bases and cut them in half with a razor saw. The arc markers on the Maelstrom's Edge bases serve as a handy guide for this, but if you are using different bases then some measuring and marking would be involved here.
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I cut a piece of masonite to an appropriate size for a base, and then a smaller piece of foamed PVC for the generator to sit on. I could have used another piece of masonite here, but figured the plastic gum dispenser would glue better to the PVC. On the PVC, I marked out where the dispenser pieces would sit, and added a 25mm-wide centre strip to serve as a guide for gluing the base pieces on.
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Then, I sat each dispenser piece in turn onto the marks and glued the base sections in position on both sides using an all-plastics glue.
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(The 'all-plastics' glue that I use is a 2-part system that has a tube of superglue and a 'primer' pen. You prime the contact points on both parts to be glued before applying the glue, and it creates a super-fast and extremely strong bond with just about any type of plastic).
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It was around about this time that I noticed that there were small recycling symbols embossed on two of the dispenser pieces, so I carefully shaved these off with the exacto knife and lightly sanded down the surface. Then I moved on to the ends. Due to the dispenser having that tongue that I cut off back at the start, one side was left with a flat plate, while the other had a hole where the tongue originally slotted in. I took the cut piece of tongue and glued it into this gap.
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Then I took eight support struts from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue, and cut off the vent sections on their ends. These were glued in pairs into the dispenser opening.
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The four sections of dispenser were then glued down onto the base, with the 25mm base sections on each touching the matching section on the next.
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I felt that the generator needed a control panel, so quickly threw one together using a console and two trapezoid windows from the terrain sprue, with a square of foamed PVC as a base.
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With that glued in place onto the masonite base, the generator was ready for some paint!
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I painted it up using my normal weathered metal technique (which you can find in the tutorial <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-weathered-metal">here</a>).
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To build your own generator, you should be able to find the bubblegum tape just about anywhere that sells bubblegum, and can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/new-broken-unit-release-paNew Broken unit release: Pa'ku Artilleryinsaniak2018-10-31T17:00:00+00:002018-10-31T17:00:00+00:00This month sees the release of a new support unit for the Broken: Pa'ku Artillery, available now from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=45">here</a>!
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Behind the implacable visage of the Pa'ku resides a powerful, if often misunderstood intellect. Extremely logical creatures, when the Pa'ku are convinced a certain course of action will do more good than wrong, they will take lives without scruples if that is what it takes. Pa'ku artillery has been known to mercilessly bombard hospitals or civilian refugee groups when they have concluded that this was the most logical course of action. They do not make any decision lightly nor do they act carelessly. In fact, the Pa'ku sometimes drive their commanders crazy as they sit pondering the pros and cons of a proposed course of action and all the alternatives, and where the situation is particularly complex have been known to gather for private war councils with their own kind before they will consider responding to a call to arms. Despite their reputation for ruthlessness, when Pa'ku take lives it is because they believe there is no viable alternative. This does not however mean they are saints - all of a Pa'ku's deliberations are still ultimately guided by self-interest and a desire to survive the chaos of the Edge.
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Despite their peculiarities, Pa'ku are especially desirable to the Broken. Their solid physiques make them extremely suited to carrying heavy loads, including the biggest artillery the Broken manage to cobble together. At close range, the Pa'ku can extend their very long tongue with enough force to cave in a man's skull. Pa'ku only speak to other species when necessary, and their language is difficult for most races to translate or speak. Combined with their large size, this generally results in them being overlooked by evacuation efforts, and so as with the even larger Gnolti, joining the Broken is often the only reasonable chance for a Pa'ku to escape the edge and find a new home.
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Pa'ku are often found in the support lines of Broken forces with giant cannon and other esoteric weapons strapped to their broad shoulders. Linked with electronic targeting systems, these weapons can be slaved together to unleash devastating barrages of firepower onto enemy lines. Their favoured weapon is a multi-barrelled EMP mortar, which carpets the battlefield with explosive energy packets that can fry electronic systems and incinerate softer targets. You can find the rules for the Pa'ku Artillery unit in the Force Builder section of the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp">here</a>.
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This high detail, multi-part resin kit contains one Pa'ku armed with a Quad EMP Mortar, and is available now from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=45">here</a>!http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-abandoned-outpostTerrain Spotlight: Abandoned Outpostinsaniak2018-10-29T18:00:00+00:002018-10-29T18:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a699a436-7e10-47bd-9f92-2ac7230bf68a" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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As anyone who has been following these modeling articles may have noticed, I have all sorts of trouble looking at store-bought kits and not immediately coming up with various ways to hack them up and glue them back together again, and this week's article is no exception. There are a plethora of outstanding MDF building kits out in the market these days, which can be great options for inexpensive, easy to build terrain. Thanks to how easy it is to cut and glue, they can also form a great base for modification. I recently put together a basic desert building from Knights of Dice's Tabula Rasa range, with some extra detailing courtesy of the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue (If you missed it, you can find the article <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-knights-of-dice">here</a>), and this week, I'm taking a stab at a second building from this range. Intact buildings are just so pre-galaxy-spanning-apocalypse, however, so I'm taking the knife to this one and creating a small abandoned outpost:
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The first step was to plan out exactly how I was going to destroy the building, so I popped the parts off their sheets and fitted the basic structure together with no glue. Then I took a pencil and drew a rough line around the outside where I wanted the walls to be damaged.
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I cut the walls using a sharp exacto knife, by scoring through on the outside following the pencil line relatively closely, then scoring a roughly corresponding line on the inside of the wall piece (this wasn't an exact match, just eye-balled to be close enough) and then snapping the piece in two. The edge was then cleaned up using the knife to remove any fluffy or protruding parts.
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When all of the cuts were completed, it was time to add some detail. The Tabula Rasa kits are deliberately plain, both to keep the cost down and to provide a generic structure for detail pieces to be added, and so they're a perfect base for the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue!
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I took a door piece and used a razor saw to cut the door out of the frame, and broke the frame into several pieces. Some scarring was also added with the knife.
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I widened both the exterior and interior doorways to match the terrain sprue door pieces. The door frame pieces were glued in place on the exterior doorway, and I added a second doorframe with the door also removed but the frame left intact into the inner doorway. Support struts cut to length were glued over the corner joints on the walls to hide them, and add a little more visual interest to the otherwise fairly plain, boxy building. On the first Tabula Rasa building I added detail over the window holes as well, but for this ruin it didn't seem necessary.
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The courtyard has a low MDF wall that runs around it, but I wanted something a little more flashy, so I took a couple of ladders from the terrain sprue and cut off one side with a razor saw.
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These were then cut to length and glue in place around the edges of the courtyard, after gluing the scrap pieces back into the locator holes for the original wall to fill them in.
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To help turn this into an old, long-abandoned ruin that the jungle had started to reclaim, I built up some patches on the floor with air-drying clay.
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I pressed a few castoffs pieces of MDF into the clay, and glued the distressed door down on the courtyard floor. Over this, I painted a thick layer of PVA glue and sprinkled on a generous layer of a gravel, sand and railway ballast mix that I like to use for building rubble as it has a lot of different textures in there.
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When the PVA glue had dried, I tipped off the excess gravel mix, and then it was time to paint. I didn't have a brown spray to hand, so I undercoated with some flat black and, while it was still wet, followed up with a light coat of Army Painter Dragon Red.
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Over this went a coat of a light cream colour, and then a highlight spray of white from above.
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I went back over anything that I wanted to look like exposed metal and re-undercoated with Vallejo Beasty Brown, before drybrushing with P3 Pig Iron. The few bits of the original floor still peeking through the rubble were painted with Vallejo Basalt Grey and drybrushed with Vallejo Light Grey.
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With that out of the way, I went to town with washes!
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I gave the whole building a generous coat of Army Painter Strong Tone. The walls were painted with a medium-sized flat brush, using vertical strokes to create a streaky effect and allowing the wash to pool and run where it felt like it. When that first wash had dried, I went back over it, picking out small areas with extra dollops of Strong Tone and also adding some patches of Green Tone and Military Shader to give them a greenish, mossy tint.
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Time to add some shrubbery!
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I took a bunch of assorted fake plants. Most of these are cheap aquarium plants, although I also used a bunch of plastic greenery taken from a mat I found at a local hardware store for creating fake vertical gardens. It looks rubbish as an actual plant feature, but is a perfect resource for my purposes here.
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Fake plants, particularly the cheaper kind, tend to be rather brightly coloured and slightly glossy, which just wouldn't do. I got around this by giving the plants a light spray with Army Painter Army Green - not enough to completely cover over the original colour, but enough to dull down the colour and shine. To add some extra colour differentiation, I very lightly misted the tips of some of the plants with white. The painted plants were then glued in place wherever seemed appropriate, but poking a hole through the rubble and into the underlying clay, applying some superglue to the plant stem and pushing it into the hole. I also cut some leaves off a few plants and glued them around on the ground.
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The final step was to paint the fallen leaves with varying amounts of brown, and then a quick wash of Strong Tone. At this point, the ruin looked something like this:
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To get all apocalyptic on your own building creations, you can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-karist-kaddar-novasModeling Spotlight: Karist Kaddar Novainsaniak2018-10-22T17:00:00+00:002018-10-22T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a699a436-7e10-47bd-9f92-2ac7230bf68a" align="left" style="margin: 0px 5px"> - by Iain Wilson
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This week, I'm having a play around with another of the original models released with the Battle for Zycanthus boxed set: The Kaddar Nova!
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The Kaddar Nova is a member of the Karist Enclave priesthood, but they are often granted operational control on the battlefield due to their experience and the reverence paid to them by members of the Enclave. Equipped with an incredibly powerful cybel reactor that serves as both a power source and a weapon, the Kaddar Nova is a distinctive figure. Their bodies are enlarged and twisted by their constant exposure to cybel energy, and their ravaged faces cut a stark contrast to their powerful frames.
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As the leader and figurehead of the Karist forces, the Kaddar Nova needed a suitably impressive model kit, and so the sprue comes with a nice array of parts to build them. But as always, of course, the sprue is only the starting point, and below I'll go through some quick and easy ways to further customise this fearsome individual.
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Building your Kaddar Nova straight off the sprue lets you choose from three different sets of legs, two different arms for each side, two different heads, and an optional crown piece for the more formal-dressing Kaddar.
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The indents in the crown mimic the extra eyes of the alien Angels that often accompany Karist forces. You can use this to make a more mysterious Kaddar Nova by taking the head with the scull-cap, trimming his nose down flat and gluing the crown piece on upside down over his face, so that the upper rim sits just below his eyes.
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Headswaps are another easy way to mix things up on your models. The necks on the original Karist sets weren't all interchangeable (something that we've corrected in later Maelstrom's Edge models) but thanks to them being plastic that's easily fixed with a little cutting or filing. On the below model, I have used a head from the Tempest Elite set, with the helmet crust removed as it would hit up against the cybel reactor.
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A more inscrutable look can be achieved using a Karist Trooper helmet with the neck trimmed down to fit, and the eye lenses sanded down to produce a blank faceplate. The staff on this model is a modified Cybel Glaive from the Faction Expansion sprue.
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An advancing pose can be created with some careful cutting - trim a wedge out of the groin area where the legs join, so that they can be attached in a less spread position, and glue them so that one leg is to the rear slightly. Once the glue has set, cut or file the waist down flat and assemble the rest of the model - his robes largely hide the joint, but you can use a little modeling putty to fill any resulting gaps.
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Alternatively, you can look for legs from elsewhere in the range. Trooper legs are too small, as they're not cybel-enhanced like the more elite Karist warriors, but by cutting through the waist of a Tempest Elite model with a razor saw, you can replace the Kaddar Nova's robed legs with walking, armoured legs instead.
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Shadow Walker legs also work, although they're a fraction shorter. This Kaddar Nova is obviously just not quite as cybel-swollen as his compatriots yet.
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The Kaddar Nova is only one aspect of the Kaddar priesthood, and others will be fleshed out eventually. In the meantime, though, it's fun to see where mashing bits together can lead you... The below model is a combination of Kaddar Nova and Shadow Walker parts, with some small tentacles taken from a couple of Mature Angel kits. I call him a 'Kaddar Noctis'.
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Hopefully, this has given you some inspiration for your own Kaddar Nova builds! To get started, you can pick up the Kaddar Nova along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/background-fiction-the-prowler-apvBackground Fiction - The Prowler APVinsaniak2018-10-17T17:00:00+00:002018-10-17T17:00:00+00:00<h3>Prowler APV</h3>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/2e18937e-7de4-409e-b16a-25fcf18ebb58" width="700" class="blog-img">
</center>
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Prowler is the group term used to refer to the armoured personnel vehicles used by Epirian Contractors and security forces. Six or eight wheeled, the prowler is sturdy enough to clamber over rough terrain or suffer small arms fire, and its sealed compartments are large enough to house five to ten men. Prowlers are utilised for different functions, with some having an empty rear for transport of goods or men, whilst others have banks of computer interfaces to control drones or even act as a mobile command vehicle in battle. Prowlers are fitted with a drone rack allowing for rapid launch of airborne drones, and military vehicles sport a roof-mounted turret with a surface to air rocket battery or machine gun.
http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-tutorial-hack-the-terrainTerrain Tutorial: Hack the Terrain Sprue!insaniak2018-10-15T17:00:00+00:002018-10-15T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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The Maelstrom's Edge Terrain Sprue contains a slew of assorted plastic bits and pieces that can be used to pretty up your home-made scifi terrain, including a bunch of essential elements like doors, windows and pipe fittings. This week, I'd like to share a few tips and tricks for squeezing a little extra versatility out of the terrain sprue and adding some extra touches of detail to your buildings.
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<center>
<img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/Sprue-Terrain_640w.jpg" height="476" width="640" class="blog-img">
</center>
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The terrain sprue in all its glory! While it's loaded with all sorts of interesting bits that can be clipped off and glued on to your buildings as-is, a little careful cutting and some extra materials will go a long way towards adding that extra detailing that helps to finish things off just right.
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<b>Handrails</b>
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An easy one to start with! The ladder from the sprue can be used for making railings for balconies or walkways, by cutting off one side along the red line shown below, with a razor saw or exacto knife. The lintel piece, cut down to length, is perfect for filling in the corners:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e6d79c20-b218-42c2-9cc6-a2e152faea98" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Alternatively, you can just glue the intact ladder sideways onto the outer edge of your walkway or platform, like this:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/eaa9b305-5d6f-4c00-928c-4302842dda82 " width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<b>Ventilation Ducts</b>
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The large pipe fitting can be used for creating ventilation ducts with the addition of a fan blade made from plasticard or thin cardboard. Use the fitting itself as a template for the fan, by holding it upside-down against your plasticard or cardboard and drawing around the inside with a sharp pencil:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f40adb77-d23f-4670-8b99-69b4a9469aeb" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<i>(In case you're wondering, you use the fitting upside-down for this because it flares out at the bottom. So if you draw around with the fitting right-way-up, your fan is going to wind up too wide to fit in)</i>
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Next, you can flip the fitting up the right way, and use the buttresses as a guide to make six marks around the circle:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/c2b90e4f-edf6-4f73-811a-939fb9bf45e2" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The join the marks across the circle, and along each of the resultant radial lines make another mark 2mm out from the centre.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a6cf2993-ab56-4805-b08d-6d41cd106b9f" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Then cut out the circle, and cut inwards along each radial line up to the inner marks. Dry-fit it inside the pipe fitting to make sure it goes in, and sand around the edge if necessary so that it goes in easily - you don't want a tight fit, as it will deform slightly in the next step.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/c8421545-c2d4-4f75-8495-fd5b16ed2676" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Now gently twist each of the segments around the circle to create a fan shape. If you're using plasticard, go gently here to avoid snapping it - cardboard is a little more forgiving at this step. Obviously, you also need to make sure that you twist each segment the same way, otherwise your fan is going to run into some operational issues.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a3a8e8f5-9e85-44b5-94df-43874af1d70a" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/b68273a1-e45d-4073-ac6d-a8c9b1a1e233" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Your fan blade can now be glued in place inside the pipe fitting by applying a small amount of superglue around the edge and pushing it into place.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/b302514a-ee79-4249-ba83-4c053be4cb70" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Once it's been glued into place on your building and painted, you ventilation duct can look something like this:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/471fc7ee-8164-4a84-b4e5-98dad65ef0c7" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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You can also create a more compact version using the smaller pipe fitting and a rotor assembly from an Epirian Firefly Drone. Simply trim off the mounting strut and fin from the rotor piece to make it circular, and glue it to the back of the pipe fitting, as below:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/6eef741e-69c9-4315-97e5-6ddf098a95a7" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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You'll need to cut a small hole in whatever surface you're mounting this on for the rotor assembly to sit in, so that the pipe fitting can sit flush.
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<b>Chimney Pipes</b>
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I always try to look out for ways to make use of all of the leftover sprue that builds up from all of those plastic projects. The round sprue used on this terrain set is particularly useful with just a little help from some plastic tubing. Take the small pipe fitting, an 'L'-shaped piece of the thinner side of the terrain sprue, a square cut from the bottom of one of the support struts, and a couple of short pieces of 7mm (1/4") plastic tubing (Plastruct, Woodland Scenics or the like).
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/423e6704-f1db-4c1c-980b-402e1f624c4b" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The 7mm tubing fits nice and snugly into the small pipe fitting. In a happy coincidence, the thinner section of the terrain sprue fits just as neatly into the 7mm tubing. If you remove any extraneous casting gates and mouldlines from the sprue piece and fit it all together, you can do this:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/bcc87bad-3ef6-412d-aaef-6f70473b64a7" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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This can be then glued in place wherever seems appropriate, and can be easily reconfigured to match your terrain using different combinations of sprue sections and/or extra bits of tubing or support strut sections.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/4fe4e46d-29da-4318-9f0c-a28ec52b1ba8" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/01f826c0-ef53-4c32-8386-5a8d8f6a5927" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<b>Trouble-free Doors</b>
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Some people have been using various plastic containers, storage trays or home guttering sections in conjunction with the terrain sprue to create some interesting buildings for their MEdge tables. One of the big problems with some of these options, though, is that the doors need to be inset into the walls, and cutting some plastics easily and cleanly in order to do so can be problematic. So I came up with this solution:
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Take a door, and three support struts.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e20dae5e-6b98-409b-ba84-428ffb2a23d1" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Trim off the support struts along the red lines in the below diagram, keeping just the middle pieces. Note that the top piece in the below picture is slightly different to the other two, which have a rivet strip left on one end:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/382ec441-047f-4ac1-9884-8291d66c9761" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The glue them in place around the back of the door frame. The strut piece from the top of the diagram goes along the top, and the other two (which, unless something's gone horribly wrong, will be identical) go down either side with the rivet strip at the top.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/77b9bde3-6dd7-4602-bd74-a657d9ce0d2d" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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This can then be glued in place on the wall of whatever you're using to make your building, with no cutting of the wall required.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a406578c-7201-476c-8f94-c91db8e9777e" width='500' class="blog-img">
</center>
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These are just a few ideas that I've found useful when constructing terrain. One of the great things about a product like this is the more-or-less limitless possibilities opened up through the ease of working with plastic components and the open-ended nature of the construction allowed by it. It's always great to see people take the sprue and find new and unexpected ways to use the components on it. So why not give it a go? You can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/sample-force-rosters-for-theSample Force Rosters for the Brokeninsaniak2018-10-10T17:00:00+00:002018-10-10T17:00:00+00:00When the Battle For Zycanthus boxed set was released, we published some <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/71/Sample%20Force%20Rosters/">sample force rosters</a> for the Karist and Epirian factions based on the models in the set, to help give new players an idea of what a Maelstrom's Edge force could look like. Since then, we have released a stack of new models and introduced a third faction, the Broken, to the game, so it seemed like a good idea to add some new force rosters to the sample collection. Below, you'll find three different sample force rosters for the Broken, and a breakdown of which models you would need to put them together.
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-brokensecdefambush_640w.jpg" height="317" width="640" class="blog-img"></center>
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<h3>LIST #1 - ALL-PLASTIC 120 POINTS</h3><br/>
(a standard 'small' game, using just the plastic Broken Infantry Pack models)
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<u><b>Detachment #1 (of 2)</b></u><br/>
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="700">
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td width="15%">TYPE</th><td width="25%">UNIT</td><td>UPGRADE</td><td width="10%">POINTS</td></TR>
<tr><td>[Command]</td><td>Forsaken Chieftain (8)</td><td>x2 Beam Pistols (+0)</td><td>8 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x1 extra Broken Rabble (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Chem Launcher (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 EMP Harpoon (+1)</td><td>8 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Chem Launcher (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Glue Rifle (+1)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Auto Slugger (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Longbeam Rifle (+1)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Hammer]</td><td>Rabble Assault (8)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+4)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x3 EMP Harpoon (+0)</td><td>12 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Hammer]</td><td>Rabble Assault (8)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+4)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Massive Torch (+3)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x2 replace Beam Blastgun with Chem Pistol & Slug Pistol (-2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>Boss replaces Beam Blastgun with Chem Pistol & Grenade Harness (-1)</td><td>12 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Anvil]</td><td>Rabble Fire Support (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Longbeam Rifle (+6)</td><td>13 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Anvil]</td><td>Rabble Fire Support (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Longbeam Rifle (+6)</td><td>13 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>DETACHMENT #1 TOTAL</td><td>84 pts</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
<br/><br/><br/>
<u><b>Detachment #2 (of 2)</b></u><br/>
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="700">
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td width="15%">TYPE</th><td width="25%">UNIT</td><td>UPGRADE</td><td width="10%">POINTS</td></TR>
<tr><td>[Command]</td><td>Forsaken Chieftain (8)</td><td>replace Slug Rifle with Beam Blastgun (+1)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x1 extra Broken Rabble (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Chem Launcher (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 EMP Harpoon (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>Boss replaces Slug Rifle with Chem Pistol & Grenade Harness (+0)</td><td>8 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Emp Harpoon (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Glue Rifle (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>Boss replaces Slug Rifle with Grenade Harness & Slug Pistol (+0)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Anvil]</td><td>Rabble Fire Support (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Auto Slugger (+3)</td><td>10 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>DETACHMENT #2 TOTAL</td><td>36 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>GRAND TOTAL</td><td>120 pts</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
<br/><br/><br/>
Models needed:
<br/>
<ul>
<li>Broken Infantry Pack x10.
</ul>
<br/>
The two Chieftains for this list are built from the plastic set, which is why there are two Rabble units that only have 5 in the unit.
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-broken-rabble01_640w.jpg" height="237" width="640" class="blog-img"></center>
<br/><br/><br/>
<h3>LIST #2 - 120 POINTS</h3><br/>
(a standard 'small' game, using a mix of plastic and resin Broken models)
<br/><br/><br/>
<u><b>Detachment #1 (of 2)</b></u><br/>
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="700">
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td width="15%">TYPE</th><td width="25%">UNIT</td><td>UPGRADE</td><td width="10%">POINTS</td></TR>
<tr><td>[Command]</td><td>Forsaken Chieftain (8)</td><td>x1 Beam Pistol (+0)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Trophy Melee Weapon (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>Xeno Spotter (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>Customized Weapons (+2)</td><td>12 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Chem Launcher (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Glue Rifle (+1)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Auto Slugger (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Longbeam Rifle (+1)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Hammer]</td><td>Rabble Assault (8)</td><td>x1 Marsayan Hypnotist (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Massive Torch (+3)</td><td>13 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Hammer]</td><td>Rabble Assault (8)</td><td>x1 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Hakoyu Grand Master (+4)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x3 EMP Harpoon (+0)</td><td>14 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Vanguard]</td><td>x2 Sig Jammer (12)</td><td></td><td>12 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Anvil]</td><td>Gnolti (10)</td><td></td><td>10 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Anvil]</td><td>Rabble Fire Support (5)</td><td>x1 extra Broken Rabble (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Longbeam Rifle (+6)</td><td>12 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>DETACHMENT #1 TOTAL</td><td>91 pts</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
<br/><br/><br/>
<u><b>Detachment #2 (of 2)</b></u><br/>
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="700">
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td width="15%">TYPE</th><td width="25%">UNIT</td><td>UPGRADE</td><td width="10%">POINTS</td></TR>
<tr><td>[Command]</td><td>Forsaken Chieftain (8)</td><td>Customized Weapons (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>Extensive Cybernetics (+2)</td><td>12 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Chem Launcher (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 EMP Harpoon (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>Boss replaces Slug Rifle with Chem Pistol & Grenade Harness (+0)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Anvil]</td><td>Rabble Fire Support (5)</td><td>x3 Auto Slugger (+3)</td><td>8 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>DETACHMENT #2 TOTAL</td><td>29 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>GRAND TOTAL</td><td>120 pts</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
<br/><br/><br/>
Models needed:
<br/>
<ul>
<li>Broken Infantry Pack x6
<li>Forsaken Chieftain x1
<li>Forsaken Tech Chieftain x1
<li>Sig Jammer x2
<li>Marsayan Hypnotist x1
<li>Hakoyu Grand Master x1
<li>Gnolti x1
</ul>
<br/><br/><br/>
<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-brokenvsrobots_640w.jpg" height="312" width="640" class="blog-img"></center>
<br/><br/><br/>
<h3>LIST #3 - 120 POINTS, SINGLE DETACHMENT</h3><br/>
(a mix of plastic and resin models, optimized to fit into a single detachment)
<br/><br/><br/>
<center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="700">
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td width="15%">TYPE</th><td width="25%">UNIT</td><td>UPGRADE</td><td width="10%">POINTS</td></TR>
<tr><td>[Command]</td><td>Forsaken Chieftain (8)</td><td>x1 Trophy Melee Weapon (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>Xeno Spotter (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>Customized Weapons (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>Extensive Cybernetics (+2)</td><td>15 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Auto Slugger (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Longbeam Rifle (+1)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Core]</td><td>Broken Rabble (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 Chem Launcher (+1)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x1 EMP Harpoon (+1)</td><td>9 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Hammer]</td><td>Rabble Assault (8)</td><td>x2 Hakoyu Grand Master (+8)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Torch (+0)</td><td>16 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Hammer]</td><td>Rabble Assault (8)</td><td>x2 Hakoyu Grand Master (+8)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Massive Torch (+3)</td><td>19 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Vanguard]</td><td>x2 Sig Jammer (12)</td><td></td><td>12 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td>[Anvil]</td><td>x2 Gnolti (10)</td><td></td><td>20 pts</td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td>[Anvil]</td><td>Rabble Fire Support (5)</td><td>x2 extra Broken Rabble (+2)</td><td></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><td></td><td></td><td>x3 Longbeam Rifle (+6)</td><td>13 pts</td></tr>
<tr><td></td><td></td><td>TOTAL</td><td>112 pts</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
<br/><br/><br/>
Models needed:
<br/>
<ul>
<li>Broken Infantry Pack x5 (you'll have a couple of models spare)
<li>Forsaken Chieftain x1
<li>Sig Jammer x2
<li>Hakoyu Grand Master x4
<li>Gnolti x2
</ul>
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Note that for the above list, you could get to 119 points by dropping the Rabble Fire Support and including another two Gnolti instead!
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<hr>
<br/><br/><br/>
Hopefully the above force rosters will give you some idea of how to plan your force. If you're looking for the force rosters for the Karist and Epirian factions, you can find them on the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/71/Sample%20Force%20Rosters/">here</a>.
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To assemble your own force, you can pick up the above models, and the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp">here</a>.
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Happy Gaming!
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http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-energy-bladesPainting Tutorial: Energy Bladesinsaniak2018-10-08T17:00:00+00:002018-10-08T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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The Maelstrom's Edge Faction Expansion Sprue introduced a couple of cybel-powered edged weapons - the Cybel Blade and Cybel Glaive - to the Karist faction. These weapons give the Karist troops a wonderful, savage look and add even more nasty, close-quarters options to their units.<br><br>
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<img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/Model-KaristPraetorianSword_320w.jpg" height="368" width="320" class="blog-img"> <img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/Model-KaristPraetorianGlaive_320w.jpg" height="436" width="320" class="blog-img">
</center>
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Painting these sorts of weapons is a great opportunity to add some eye-catching detail to your force, so I thought it might be useful to offer some suggestions on different ways to do so, to suit varying levels of painting prowess. There's no right or wrong way - you can feel free to use whatever technique suits your style, but the below ideas might give you a starting point if you're unsure of how to go about it.
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For each of the below methods, paint up the rest of the weapon however suits your force's colours, and then go to town on your blade!
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<hr>
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<b>The Silver Wash Method</b>
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An easy one to kick things off. Start with a silver blade. Apply a wash of purple ink (I've used Army Painter Purple Tone). Let it dry, and you're done!
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/4424068b-ecb5-4296-9d02-bba17abd1496" class="blog-img"> <img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f2c38a21-9d23-4778-a7a9-5eb9b20bbd76" class="blog-img">
</center>
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<hr>
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<b>The White Wash Method</b>
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Similar to the above, except that you start with a white blade. Apply a wash of purple ink, and let it dry.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e3ab246e-8774-4404-b703-bbbc2f8e2e8a" class="blog-img"> <img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/afe34681-447b-4708-b611-131914c902a9" class="blog-img">
</center>
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To lift it just a little, you can then use a fine detail brush and a little white paint to highlight the raised edges.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/74af5faa-cce3-456d-8210-5f56b1ca3c21" class="blog-img">
</center>
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<hr>
<br>
<b>The Drybrush Method</b>
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Start with a silver or gunmetal blade. Apply purple ink to the back half of the blade, and let it dry.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/b3f155cf-6369-4c7b-aba8-d106a91e69d1" class="blog-img"> <img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/51530b87-3ed0-4d60-81d2-3126d3a5a40f" class="blog-img">
</center>
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Blend the purple into the metal by lightly drybrushing with the same metal colour that you used on the blade. This will also pick out the raised edges.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/feb897e0-9010-4340-867d-8d20999e8b7b" class="blog-img">
</center>
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<hr>
<br>
<b>The Crystal Method</b>
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Start with a white blade. Using a fine detail brush, apply light coats of purple ink which each successive coat covering slightly less of the blade so that you build up a gradient of purple fading gradually to white . You don't want the ink to pool - the lighter you apply each coat, the better the end result will be.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/56f7d41a-9288-4620-a37b-f209eb70a1e2" class="blog-img"> <img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/42012275-6552-417e-a7e3-559a5e862e43" class="blog-img">
</center>
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Work with the shape of the blade - you want the brightest (whitest) part of the blade on the curved part of the edge, so the purple builds up from that point towards the tip and the back end of the blade. On the top half of the blade this is reversed, so the darkest purple is on the inside of the curve, fading out to white on the ends. Once you've built up your colour to the level you want it, highlight the raised edges with a little white.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a2e9df91-a7cc-4913-8f93-58d4087035ba" class="blog-img"> <img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/b95264bc-9203-4c59-aa84-b1285f5bcd08" class="blog-img">
</center>
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<hr>
<br>
And that's it - 4 different techniques for some very different results. You can vary these up some more by using different colours - I've gone with purple as that's the 'canon' colouring for cybel energy, but if you're using a different colour throughout your force (or looking to apply these techniques for a different miniature altogether) then you can easily substitute any colour ink.
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If you're feeling inspired, you can pick up the Expansion Sprue from the Maelstrom's Edge online store <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=21&acr=artcl">here</a>, and make sure you share your efforts on the Comm Guild Facebook page (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge</a>)!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.
http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/new-karist-faction-objective-cardNew Karist Faction Objective Card: First Contactinsaniak2018-10-03T17:00:00+00:002018-10-03T17:00:00+00:00Although the existence of the xenos species called Angels was not completely unknown to the inhabitants of the spiral arm, only a handful of academics and long-standing spacefarers truly knew of them before the Karists began using Angels for their military and propaganda purposes. To everyone else, they were always simply a myth or legend bragged about by starship captains who had spent too many years traversing the void.
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Karists tout that these creatures are emissaries of of the Maelstrom, with their priests having helped coined the name 'Angels' to describe them. When Karist priests attempt to sway the populace of a world to their cause, they often mention Angels, or even utilize a live Angel as a demonstration. For how can creatures so powerful and strange, they argue, serve the will of the Karists if their cause were not just and true?
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<img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-karist-angelkeepergroup.jpg" height="481" width="597" class="blog-img">
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In Karist military actions, Angel units are typically embedded into their existing forces, giving Karist commanders access to the many unique talents the Angels can provide. However, an entire force comprised of Angels is a powerfully intimidating site, doubly so to enemy troops who have never actually seen an Angel before. Therefore on occasion, full Angel detachments, led by an Angel Keeper are deployed. They are usually utilized as a terror-force, early in a planetary engagement before the enemy has any experience fighting against them. Angel detachments are particularly effective against fortifications, where the sheer terror caused by the Angels can cause enemy troops to flee without firing a shot, allowing the Karists to take an enemy strongpoint where it would have cost them hundreds of lives otherwise.
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The First Contact faction objective represents a number of new avenues for our game. It is the first of several planned new faction objectives tied to particular models, helping to create different types of themed forces you can choose to utilize within the overarching umbrella of the existing forces. To this end, your force must include an Angel Keeper for you to be able to use the First Contact faction objetive.
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<blockquote color:#000000>
<h3>First Contact</h3>
<br>
<i>This objective may only be utilized if your force contains an Angel Keeper. If an objective type requires you to choose a force commander, it must be an Angel Keeper.</i>
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This objective can generate a maximum of 3 VPs per game, after which your units no longer benefit from the <b>IrratIonal Fear</b> ability.
<br><br><hr><br><br>
<b>Partial:</b> (conditional) Each time a non-fearless enemy unit fails any type of discipline check (even an automatic failure) while affected by the <b>Fearsome</b> ability of your Angel units, gain 1 VP.
<br>
<b>Full:</b> N/A
<br><br>
<b>Irrational Fear:</b> Friendly models with the angel designator gain the <b>Fearsome (1)</b> ability, or add +1 to their existing <b>Fearsome</b> ability.
</blockquote>
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You can download a printable version of this card <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/ad0a4f70-c0e5-49ab-ba01-20c17b02d7f1">here</a>.
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The existing basic faction objectives ('Secret Cache' for the Karists, 'Now You See Me' for the Broken and 'Automated Uplink Relay' for the Epirians) all work roughly the same way: they provide your forces an optional bonus, which you can choose to forgo each turn to instead gain +1 victory point. First Contact, on the other hand, provides your force with an automatic bonus: namely improving your Angel's 'Fearsome' ability, and successfully utilizing that bonus is what scores you the objective's victory points. Even better, this is the first faction objective where it is possible to earn the maximum 3 victory points in a single turn, even theoretically in the first turn of the game, which would definitely put your opponent on their back foot right out of the gate!
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But that raises the obvious question: how can First Contact possibly be balanced compared to the existing two faction objectives? The answer is that the other two objectives provide you with better situational control. When you need a victory point, you can generate one, but when you need the bonus provided by the objective, you can utilize that instead. With First Contact, once you've generated your 3 victory points from it, the bonus provided by it ends and you're stuck the rest of the game without it, even if you would have preferred to keep the bonus around longer in lieu of gaining all 3 victory points.
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<img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-brokenvsangels_640w.jpg" height="245" width="640" class="blog-img">
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In addition, generating victory points for First Contact ultimately relies upon your opponent failing discipline checks while within range of your Angels. Depending on how the game plays out and how crafty your opponent is, it is entirely possible for you to finish the game without earning some or even all of these victory points. Or in other words, this is the first faction objective where you have to rely upon your opponent doing something (failing discipline checks) in order to generate your victory points, which is inherently more risky.
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We would love for you to try out some games with both the Angel Keeper and First Contact rules and let us know what you think about them. If you've got any feedback (with or without playing any games with the rules), please feel free to provide it either by replying to this article directly, or on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm-Guild Facebook group</a> or in the Maelstrom's Edge forum on <a href="https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/forums/show/90.page">Dakka Dakka</a>.
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You can flesh out your shape-shifting alien force by picking up an Angel Keeper and any of the different types of angels from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp">here</a>! http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-tutorial-salt-weatheringTerrain Tutorial: Salt Weatheringinsaniak2018-10-01T17:00:00+00:002018-10-08T19:56:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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The Maelstrom's Edge Terrain Sprue lets you quickly and easily build some awesome-looking terrain to play your games around and over. Finishing that terrain off with a stand-out paintjob is sure to make your games look even better!
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A while back, I shared a tutorial on <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-sponge-weathering">sponge weathering</a>, which is a great way to quickly and easily add chipping effects to your paintjob. This time around, I'm looking at salt weathering, which is a little more involved than doing it with a sponge, but gives a much more detailed and realistic effect.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/5329311d-2f3d-469b-8173-7c3706a1eb7d" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
While it may look daunting at first, the most complicated part of the salt weathering process is actually just planning out what colours to use. The paint goes on in 2 or more layers, depending on how involved you want your weathering to be. For this tutorial, I'm going to just use a base layer which will become the 'weathered' part, and a top layer which provides the core colour for the building.
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<b>What you'll need.</b><br><br>
- <i>A building to paint</i><br><br>
- <i>Salt</i>. You can use ordinary tablesalt, or rocksalt, or anything in between. The coarseness of the salt changes how your weathering will appear, so some experimenting can be required to find the effect that you like most. I use a coarse rocksalt that I grind up finely with a mortar and pestle. This gives the grains a less consistent size than just using table salt, which I think enhances the overall effect.<br><br>
- <i>Hairspray</i>. The cheaper, the better. It doesn't need to hold your fabulous 'do for the whole party, just keep some salt in place while you spray it.<br><br>
- <i>A small, stiff brush</i>. An old toothbrush is ideal.<br><br>
- <i>Spray paint</i>. You can use an airbrush for this technique if you have one, but if you don't then spraycans will do just fine - that's all I use.
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First step - Apply the basecoat. This is the layer that will show through as your weathering. If you're after a chipped cement wall look, then a dark grey is appropriate. You can use a metallic colour if you want a painted metal feature, or a rusty brown for more weathered metal. If you want multiple effects over the building, then you can mix-and-match as required. If you're worried about the basecoat scratching off, which can be a problem with some plastic or metal materials, then also apply a generous coat of gloss sealer at this point.
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For my building, I'm going for cement walls with rusty metal details, so I've sprayed the whole building grey, and then gone over the parts that will be metal with brown for the rust.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/51b728b2-d880-4661-ba59-0e7ae6ce6c72" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The next step is to apply the salt. Working one facing at a time, spray on a generous (but not dripping!) coat of hairspray, and then sprinkle on the salt where you want your weathering to appear. For the most realistic effect, concentrate on areas that would be most likely to see wear and tear - exposed corners, raised edges and the like.
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<i>Note - You can use water for this step instead of hairspray, using a spray bottle or a paintbrush to apply the water where you want the salt to go. This can be a little more precise, but requires much more careful handling as the water doesn't bond quite as strongly to larger grains of salt and takes longer to dry than the hairspray.</i>
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When you're done, your building will look something like this:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/668f1e48-afd1-44ea-a82e-d1f375a9f769" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Once the hairspray has dried, you can apply your next coat of colour - I'm using a flat white. Keep this coat light, as too much paint will make it harder to remove the salt. Set aside for the paint to dry.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/41e5febf-b8fb-41dc-8f37-58924afc94a7" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Now comes the fun part!
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Using your brush, gently scrub off the salt. If your building is made from water-proof materials, you can hold it under some running water while you scrub. If you have used something cardboard, foamcore or similar, dip your brush in some water and keep it wet while trying not to soak the building too much as you scrub instead.
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As the salt comes away, your base layer is exposed in a lovely chipped pattern.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/bd0d224b-df25-4bc7-a281-e87506a3661b" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Let it dry before applying any final detailing. Any leftover salt residue will dry as a white powder on your paint, so can need a little bit of cleanup with a damp cloth. At this point, I like to apply a coat of matte sealer just to keep everything pretty while I do any detail work to the building, to avoid damaging the paint with the extra handling.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/95a6a848-2187-432c-a58b-6ae51bb0881a" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
You can apply multiple layers of colour by repeating the above steps, either over the whole building to show different paint layers or more detail on corroded metal, or by masking off part of the building to apply specific detailing. Here, I'm adding a building ID to the top and front by taping a stencil in place.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/2a8cf357-f9ee-4d34-ad75-e737a77922d9" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Salt is applied over the stencil, followed by a spray of the new colour. Once you remove the stencil and scrub away the salt, you're left with detailing that looks as weathered as the rest of the building.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/5d4fe660-af3c-4c39-9f62-88364739b9f3" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Once you have applied as many layers of weathering as you feel it needs, all that remains is to apply your final detailing
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/5329311d-2f3d-469b-8173-7c3706a1eb7d" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/54cf09fc-1575-4123-9c9e-3f8361714a60" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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And that's essentially it. You can vary the amount of weathering by using more or less salt, and can create all sorts of nifty effects through layering and careful use of colours. A good idea if you're not sure of what will work is to google images of derelict buildings or machinery and use those for inspiration.
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Why not give it a go? You can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/new-resin-release-for-theNew resin release for the Broken: The Hakoyu Grand Master!insaniak2018-09-28T17:00:00+00:002018-09-28T17:00:00+00:00<span style="font-face: arial;">
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The Broken receive a bit of a boost to their melee capabilities this month, with the release of the resin Hakoyu Grand Master - available now from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=44">Maelstrom's Edge webstore</a>!.
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-broken-hakoyu_640w.jpg" height="800" width="640" class="blogimage"></center>
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The Hakoyu Grand Master is an optional add-on for Broken Assault units. Equipped with powerful close combat weapons and defensive shields, he can help to defend the unit from incoming close quarter attacks while also possessing the fighting prowess to stand toe-to-toe with a Karist Shadow Walker!
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-broken-hakoyuVShadowWalker_640w.jpg" height="491" width="640" class="blogimage"></center>
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With four arms and a horn-like protrusion from their foreheads, Hakoyu can seem menacing at first glance, especially as most have trained for decades in various martial arts and tend to carry at least one large melee weapon with them at all times, despite the fact that they are quite passive by nature. When a Hakoyu does feel forced to fight, their lightning quick reflexes and zealous training means they can usually end the contest before their opponent even knows what has happened.
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The Hakoyu hail from the remote Yedo system. Their society is governed by a strict code of honour that can be difficult for non-Hakoyu to decipher. They believe the needs of the group are paramount, with the desires and wants of any individual considered trivial. This means Hakoyu prefer to live their lives in their home system, which makes them one of the more rare alien species in the Spiral Arm, with most humans never encountering a Hakoyu in their lifetime. All is not perfect on Yedo however, as the Hakoyu have been locked in a centuries-old war with their neighboring species, the Cera, over territorial rites and a perceived slight to the Hakoyu peoples' honor that cannot forgive. The war has steadily sapped the resources of Yedo, with the Cera using their technological advantages to blockade Yedo from receiving much needed relief supplies for its civilians. This dire situation has forced increasing numbers of Hakoyu to flee Yedo in an attempt to earn a living selling their services throughout the spiral arm, usually as a bodyguard or enforcer, even though such work is in direct conflict with their morale code and likely means they would not be welcomed back to Yedo should they ever wish to return.
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-broken-hakoyugroup_640w.jpg" height="483" width="640" class="blogimage"></center>
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When the Maelstrom threatens a world, misplaced distrust in Hakoyu sell-swords means they're often discarded at the last second by their former employers and denied a place on escape craft, leaving them ripe to join the ranks of the Broken. The Broken offer the Hakoyu a way out and a collective where most everyone is an outcast to some extent, in which many Hakoyu have found a second home even as they long to someday find their way back to Yedo. The Broken, on their part, value the Hakoyu's fighting skills and their unselfish character. The most sought after Hakoyu are their pinnacle warriors: a Grand Master, as they tend to give any squad the upper hand in any close quarter fighting. The calm demeanor of a Grand Master under fire is enough to convince their Broken squad mates to charge into the teeth of enemy fire rather than to run away. Grand Masters wield deadly Hakoyu phase weaponry, a technology first seen on Yedo and whose methods of construction are a closely guarded secret. These weapons pass effortlessly through energy fields and can cause electronic circuitry to explode upon contact, both highly sought after abilities in the Hakoyu's fight against the Cera. Hakoyu are also renown for their exquisite skill with forearm deflectors, and Grand Masters in particular are able to use these to prevent an opponent from ever striking them, no matter what type of deadly melee weapon they might face.
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The Hakoyu Grand Master is available now - You can find it in the Maelstrom's Edge webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=44">here</a>!
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The unit card will be up in the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=3">Force Builder</a> section of the Maelstrom's Edge website in the next couple of days - but here's a sneak peek!
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-broken-hakoyu-card_640w.jpg" height="470" width="640" class="blogimage"></center>
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</div></div>
http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-building-made-fromTerrain Spotlight: Building made from foamed PVC and the Maelstrom's Edge Terrain Sprueinsaniak2018-09-24T17:00:00+00:002018-09-24T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
<br><br>
I've showcased a couple of customised Plast Craft Games buildings in the past - a scifi-d up <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-sci-fi-temple">pagoda</a>, and a similarly modified <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-walkthrough-western-themed-scifi">western building</a>. These kits are made out of a foamed PVC board which was really fantastic to work with, so I decided to track down some similar board to have a crack at putting together some of my own designs with it, with the below result:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/8361d568-aca8-4840-83a9-3fd931d65d9e" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Slightly unusually for my projects, I started this one by sketching out a plan to see how everything would fit together. This was partly due to my desire to take advantage of the flexibility of the PVC by adding a curved front wall to the building, so I wanted to make sure that I had my dimensions correct before I started cutting.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/16bb7201-cd83-4217-b40f-647256265605" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Once I was confident that I had it all worked out, I pencilled up the various panels that made up the building onto the sheet of PVC, and then used a steel ruler and hobby knife to cut it all out. The foamed PVC cuts really easily with a knife, and also sands well. It feels almost like something halfway between cardboard and foamcore*, without the inherent frailties, like the risk of damage from moisture or spraypaint.
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<i>*For the uninitiated, Foamcore, also sometimes called Foam Board, is a material made up of a thin sheet of expanded polystyrene sandwiched between layers of paper or thin card, and is a common building material for wargaming terrain and scale building construction.
</i>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f09f7b7a-17f4-4b65-8d2e-bc9c1607cc4d" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Once everything was cut out, I did a quick dry-fit to check that everything slotted in where it should.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/6bb6058f-4502-4486-8c15-91e97ab4f2f9" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The curved panel on the front was made by cutting the piece to the right size and then laying it over an old baby formula tin while heating it with a hair dryer. This achieved the desired curve, but I suspect the hair dryer was a little too hot for the material as it caused it to swell on some of the cut edges. Next time around, I'll try just immersing it in hot water for a minute instead.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/6ad5453f-cc8e-4cf1-bf1a-ae8dba3a046b" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The door and windows are taken from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue. I cut the holes in the wall panels for those by sitting them in place, drawing around them with a pencil, and then cutting the resultant rectangles out with a hobby knife.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/588e98a1-389b-4136-919f-d2194d3e5de0" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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I wanted a walled roof area for troops to take cover on, so marked down 20mm inside each wall and glued in some strips of leftover PVC to act as support.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/64694323-efde-48fb-b6f2-24b5f5609042" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The walls, door and windows were all glued into place, and the roof dropped into place with a little more glue. I used superglue for assembly - this grabs really well, and quite quickly, on the foamed PVC.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/2a9aef48-2030-4ab5-87cd-c4eb48332027" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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As the last step before painting, I took support struts from the terrain sprue and glued them over the exposed joints on the walls.
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/b0a423ea-6c9b-4024-9ac9-1e0257bca85b" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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That left me with the building itself assembled, and a few details to add on once the walls were painted. For some added sturdiness, I glued the building down to a square of 5mm masonite.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/2b3b56dc-05c4-4fb6-b5a3-4254d1104b60" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
To kick off the painting, I sprayed with red right around the top of the walls.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/66535fdb-e882-4cf7-9799-da2f66df4819" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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I then applied a line of masking tape over the red paint, just below the tops of the walls. I lined this up with one of the panels on the support struts, to make it look neater.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/0de6824e-928a-4ba8-a792-328c9e58fe03" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The whole building received a coat of a nice, sandy brown colour.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/73b6086e-006c-486f-ac03-57885f4a573f" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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This was followed up with a spray of white from above, leaving the sandy brown in the crevasses and undersides of the detail.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/4a41ef7a-e9e9-4f23-a2db-cb2cfe530496" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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(And yes, it does feel a little absurd to take a white building, and apply three different coats of paint just to wind up with a white building again!)
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Once the spray was dry, I peeled off the masking tape, and painted the base and the roof with Vallejo Basalt Grey.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a8d3be34-4c92-4b34-8c4a-572fd23006a1" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Everything was weathered with a sponge and some Vallejo Heavy Charcoal (for a how-to on sponge weathering, check out the article <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-sponge-weathering">here</a>!), and the base and roof were drybrushed with Vallejo Light Grey and a little white.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f0571593-4399-4661-9349-7326821326f7" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
I dirtied everything up with a generous drybrush here and there with Vallejo Beasty Brown.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/2ebc662e-4936-436b-b108-2d11997784af" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The lower edges of the weathering on the red strips was highlighted with a little Citadel Tentacle Pink and Army Painter Pure Red, and I blacklined some of the deeper detail lines on the terrain sprue components. The 'puddle' stains were added with Army Painter Strong Tone and Dark Tone, by dripping small drops onto the board and leaving it to dry.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/9f689271-ec8a-4fa5-8db3-c7fb35d49946" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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For the finishing steps, I added a fan on one wall using the large pipe fitting from the terrain sprue some plasticard, built a small pipe coming out of the back wall using some more terrain sprue pipe fittings, a couple of short pieces of plastic tube and a piece of sprue cut from the terrain sprue, and hung a ladder on the back wall. To add handrails to the top of the ladder, I trimmed away the top rung, and cut a couple of pieces of sprue that looked about right, added a ninety-degree bend with by bending carefully with pliers, and then gluing it all in place. The ladder was painted using my normal <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-weathered-metal">weathered metal technique</a>.
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The end result looks like this:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/86b52a7d-cbc4-423a-bf6e-a9577ce5ccea" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e979c8df-64d8-4652-9640-01a1de33623d" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f411fb3e-562e-4645-ae4d-c49fd695fd9d" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/c94cd569-4720-49a3-81ae-dcc4821b8ed8" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<hr>
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You can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=artcl">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-epirian-secdef-heavyModeling Spotlight: Epirian SecDef Heavy Weapons Team conversion & rules!insaniak2018-09-17T17:00:00+00:002018-09-17T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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The addition of the SecDef to the Epirian lineup adds a much more 'military' feel to the faction, and I've been having a lot of fun exploring that with the models. I previously added my own homebrew SecDef Lieutenant and Scout Walker unit cards to the force builder (and if you missed the article, you can see how they were built <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-120-point-epirian">here</a>), and this week, I'm fleshing them out a little more with the addition of a dedicated heavy weapons team, based on the Master Bot Handler exo-suit.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e023b9c5-d0ce-480b-9b5d-d11ebcbdb05b" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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My idea was for a slower-moving, but more heavily-armed team variant, for those situations that call for a little more firepower. With that goal in mind, I grabbed some parts from the SecDef and Master Handler sprues, and went to work!
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From the Master Handler sprue, I took a torso and backpack, the weapon support arms and two weapons (I used the flakk guns, but it doesn't really matter which you use as you only want the mounting ring on the back of them). From the SecDef sprue, I took a head, two arms, two legs and a pair of machine guns.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/b6375a02-b9e0-4073-a8ad-fc1d0d67db2d" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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I didn't want these guys to be quite as heavily armed as the Master Handler, so the first step was to remove the missile racks from the top of the backpack. I sliced them off using a razor saw, and cleaned up with a hobby knife to get rid of any rough cut marks.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/aa76accb-b324-4f38-a8ec-265a7a24c8c3" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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As the SecDef arms have small shoulder pads on them, I removed the ridges that sit directly over the Master Handler's shoulders on each side of the torso. Otherwise, the arms would wind up sitting too low.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/79c0cdac-bbaa-4d8c-b3ea-24774638f0e2" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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For the weapons, I cut the mounting ring from the back of the Master Handler's guns, and the grip and trigger assembly from the top of the SecDef gun, and then glued the mounting ring to the back of the machine gun's butt.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f536e87e-d336-41fa-abe4-08d7e8efb7e2" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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From there, the body was assembled pretty much as you would expect...
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/72f24c7f-730e-4d94-8573-5a23e593f883" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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And finally, the weapons were glued onto the outside of the forearms - I didn't bother adding any specific mounting for them, as I figure they would magnetically lock to the SecDef exoskeleton's wristbands. Then I glued the support arms in place, and the model was ready for painting!
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/2a68a45a-91af-4db2-9cbb-073879d2be9b" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The same process works with the chainguns on the SecDef sprue, although in that case I also removed the weapon butt before attaching the mounting rings, to avoid the weapon looking too long against the model's arms.
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For the team sergeant, I used a pointing arm, and for something different I put the gun for that arm in a 'standby' position. When he needs it, the support arm would drop it down and it would maglock to his wrist, ready for action.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e023b9c5-d0ce-480b-9b5d-d11ebcbdb05b" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Of course, pretty models are only half of the story! I have also generated an unofficial rules card for the heavy weapons team, which you can find in the Force Builder section of the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp">here</a>.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/ab528c2e-da9b-4b8f-a84d-57f7262a5b90" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<hr>
<br><br>
To build your own heavy weapons team, you can pick up the Master Handler and SecDef sprues along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=heavy">here</a>.
<br><br>
As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-honest-pete-sTerrain Spotlight: 'Honest' Pete's Trading Postinsaniak2018-09-10T17:00:00+00:002018-09-10T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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A few weeks ago, I picked up a couple of packs of scifi shipping containers from a company called 'Laser Cut Card'. They produce a range of different vehicles and building kits that are laser cut out of stiff cardboard, which are much cheaper and easier to work with than the more common MDF kits, and are surprisingly sturdy when assembled. I built four of the six containers I received as normal shipping containers, but then couldn't resist doing something a little different for the fifth one. And so for this week's modeling spotlight, I'm running through the construction of 'Honest' Pete's Trading Post!
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/05d2bf9c-db6a-48da-b971-325893032377" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The shipping containers come flat-packed in a set of three, with some pictorial building instructions on the back of the package insert, but assembly is essentially to roll a sheet of pre-scored card into an octagonal tube and then glue other bits onto the outside of it. I assembled mine with superglue, although you could use wood glue if you wanted to allow a little more working time to make sure you have everything lined up.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/7b31e313-8132-4aea-bdf2-730731b174c2" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Obviously this wasn't going to be a particularly large shop, so the idea was to have a servery-style counter and awning rather than have customers go inside. So I began by cutting one of the large sections off the main body piece of the container, and then gluing the ends on to the result sideless tube.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/1271ce72-6f76-44e9-8d11-a2141b1ceaee" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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A shop needs somewhere to put their merchandise, so I threw together a set of shelves from thin plasticard, to run along the back wall of the container. An angled bottom on the uprights allowed the shelves to sit flush against the container side.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/00bc582c-a471-4cc5-b1cf-e8b5beb9dfde" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/29eb9a2d-c83f-496b-b053-eb92aa1166d0" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Next up I cut another couple of strips of plasticard to create a counter, about a third of the height of the space in the container wall, and glued this in place.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/cb87f8fe-da5c-4492-a825-da4b947df8c8" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/72e32fbf-f936-40a2-a92d-ebafaeaf0c93" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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For the finishing touches, I cut some 'concrete' stands for the container out of 5mm foamcore. These serve to lift the container up very slightly to allow a little extra head-clearance for the awning, and make the structure look more stable. The exposed foam center was sealed with a generous coat of PVA glue so that it wouldn't dissolve when hit with spray paint.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/a38f935b-de1e-448a-84c8-893efcb58796" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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I added some corner reinforcing to the bottom of the front edge of the awning piece using some scrap card pieces, and built some corner support posts using the small pipe fitting from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=8&acr=tpost">Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue</a>, some plastic tube and a couple of lengths of plastic cut from the sides of the terrain sprue itself.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/82af359a-0b91-446c-a4e6-70e8b8f0e9f2" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Finally, I took a large pipe fitting from the terrain sprue and added a fan cut from a piece of thin plasticard. I trimmed the edges of the pipe fitting away so that it would fit neatly over the circular detail on the roof of the container.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/75c83cb9-3161-48b2-bb57-4c17b3bedbdb" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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At this point, the trading post was looking like this:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e4c51655-6df3-469f-95ab-97d2c6434662" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
With an MDF base added, and some paint on:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/c3316f5e-1fec-495d-9afb-76feb1501351" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The sign on the awning was a last-minute addition. I was originally going to have the trading post sign on the front of the counter, but realised that this wouldn't be hugely visible on the gaming table, so built a quick rooftop sign from some more scraps of card. I also added a mesh grill above the counter after painting inside the container, to make the interior of the store less accessible.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/d7261a95-f543-460d-946f-5d90aca7ed66" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The container was sprayed with black and then Army Painter Army Green, before being sponge-weathered with Vallejo Heavy Charcoal and dirt weathering drybrushed into the creases with Vallejo Beasty Brown. The text for the signs was created in Gimp, printed, and glued on prior to weathering so that it would match the rest of the container.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/6b65a8d9-31b4-4832-ae2c-40fb12080d80" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
I added grafitti on the back and sides of the container to give it a little character and to make sure that all the interesting bits weren't on the front.
<br><br>
<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/4c8bdac0-503c-4f66-bf47-6febe402ffb8" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The grafitti was sketched in with a black fineliner pen, and then painted in whatever colours seemed appropriate.
<br><br>
<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/859baa1e-5a83-41ba-9a69-09a7815f9388" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The roof was left plain, with just the weathering to break up the green.
<br><br>
<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/fbb54da8-ad11-45ad-8194-0a3cd9d86afa" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
As an extra little detail, I printed up a shipping carton and some bottle labels using Gimp, adapting the fronts I made for my Vending Machine templates a few weeks back (article <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-tutorial-templates-vending-machines">here</a>). The shipping carton was cut and folded, and then weathered with a little Army Painter Soft Tone, while the bottle labels were glued to some bottle bombs taken from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=30&acr=tpost">Broken Infantry</a> weapons sprue with their rag wicks cut off.
<br><br>
<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/166244d6-1699-4d88-b235-011ee254e016" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br> <br><br>
And with that, 'Honest' Pete's is ready for the table!
<br><br>
<hr>
<br><br>
You can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=tpost">here</a>.
<br><br>
As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/conversion-spotlight-and-rules-brokenConversion Spotlight and Rules: Broken Skyboardersinsaniak2018-09-03T17:00:00+00:002018-09-03T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
<br><br>
Back when the plastic <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=30&acr=skybd">Broken Infantry kit</a> was released, I cobbled together a conversion of a broken warrior riding a hovering skateboard-type affair, which featured in my '<a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-easy-broken-rabble">Easy Broken Rabble Conversions</a>' article. At the time, it was just something made for a little fun, but I found myself thinking that this would make for a cool unit option for the Broken, and so decided to sit down and write up some rules for them. Below you''ll find some ideas for building your own skyboarders using asorted components and some plasticard, and a link to the (unofficial) rules card to use them in your own Maelstrom's Edge games!
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/8cbd2470-a171-4615-9434-72ffa5225771" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The primary consideration when putting together any sort of vehicles for the Broken is that they rely on scavenging and trading for whatever they can get, for the most part. As a result, there is very little uniformity in clothing and equipment, and I really wanted to carry this across to the skyboard unit. This meant coming up with three different designs for the three models in the unit, although you could just as easily stick with a single design and custimise them with additional bits and pieces stuck on, or simply with individualised paint schemes on the boards.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/7a686e5a-d442-4bd6-a00f-6fc2316a93ab" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The first board is the one I build for the original article. I didn't take any in-progress pics of this at the time, but it's a fairly basic constructions - I glued two rectangles of textured plasticard together for the board itself, and then took four turbines (two left and two right) from <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=19&acr=skybd">Epirian Firefly drones</a>, cut away the mounting pins and glued them onto the sides of the board. The rider was assembled from standard broken parts, posed to look like he is balancing on the board, which didn't actually require any converting.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/ece0d133-5bd1-4715-b805-ffc2830c2efd" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
My second board was also based on Firefly turbines, but this time I used two of them with the mounting pegs and trailing wings removed with a sharp hobby knife, as below:
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<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/7fb728e8-e5a3-4549-8fe7-c3ef004c6cda" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
I measured out the board on a piece of 2mm plasticard, allowing space for the turbines at either end with room for the rider to stand in between them. Then I drilled out holes the size of the turbines using a spade bit - a 10mm bit was very slightly too small, but was all I had. A little sanding after drilling the hole pushed it out to the right size.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/9869d328-7b80-48d0-981c-ddc029875744" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
I cut the board shape out, sanded down the edges, and glued the turbines in place in the holes. I also added a 'motor' piece using the heat shield cut from a torch (flamethrower) and a trimmed down overcharged powercell, but found on the Broken Infantry sprue.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e52fb9ab-5c95-4ee3-b1dc-068d23597ae9" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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For the final board, I made use of a part of a pipe fitting piece I had left over from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=8&acr=skybd">Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue</a>, from a building project a while back. I had cut through the pipe fitting to make it shorter, which left a nice circular piece that looked just perfect for a turbine surround. I cut a matching hole in a piece of 2mm plasticard using a 12mm spade bit, and then cut the plasticard to the shape I wanted.
<br><br>
<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/aa86b156-24f9-4b1d-be2b-993e7c03cbeb" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
I made the turbine fan itself out of a circle of 1mm plasticard, and added a circle of mesh to go over the top side of the hole, and a strut to hold the fan, using an injection point cut from an old model sprue. With all of this glued in place, I finished up with another overcharged powercell added for some sort of nod towards functionality.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/84360267-de72-4e74-8513-2b443d6b092e" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
After building riders for the two new boards, again just using components from the Broken Infantry sprue with minimal modification, I drilled holes in the bottoms of the boards to attach flight stems at suitably jaunty angles. With some paint thrown on, the skyboarder unit wound up looking like this:
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/0ac4d2a1-e5be-4252-bfff-fd7011cb6113" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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Obviously, this is only a starting point - you can let your imagination out for a run and come up with different skyboard designs using whatever components you have on hand. The sky's the limit! (Sorry...)
<br><br>
As promised back at the start, I write up a rules card to include these guys as a Vanguard option in your Broken force. You can find this in the Force Builder section of the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=3">here</a>.
<br><br>
<center>
<a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=3"><img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/8f8c36ea-67b0-45ad-aa91-5148bd1be462" width='700' class="blog-img"></a>
</center>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<hr>
<br><br>
To build your own Skyboarders, you can pick up the Broken Infantry kit along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=skybd">here</a>.
<br><br>
As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/new-epirian-resin-release-contractorNew Epirian Resin Release: Contractor Drones!insaniak2018-09-02T10:19:10+00:002018-09-02T10:19:10+00:00A reinforcement for the Epirian Foundation crawls into the online store this month, with the release of the Epirian Contractor Drone. Providing a more stable and reliable platform than human troops, Contractor Drones are used in Epirian forces to add heavy firepower or specialised tactical options to Contractor units.
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/mee10a-big.png" width="400" class="blogimage"></center>
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The Contractor Drone changes the way Contractor units are structured. Instead of having a single Contractor Unit, we're introducing 4 different types of Contractor squads which are differentiated by the type of drone that accompanies them. This current Drone has parts to use it with the new Contractor Defender unit and Contractor Scout unit, with more drone variants and associated Contractor unit types to follow later on.
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-epirian-contractordroneweaponsb_640w.jpg" width="640" class="blogimage"></center>
<br/><br/>
This resin kit is comprised of a Contractor Drone chassis, and optional parts to equip it with a Maglock Chaingun, linked Cluster Missile Pods or linked Flakk Guns, for inclusion in a Contractor Defender unit, or a Resupply Package to supplement a Contractor Scout unit. You can find it in the Maelstrom's Edge webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=43">here</a>!
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-epirian-contractorswithdrone_640w.jpg" width="640" class="blogimage"></center>
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The rules cards for these units will be online very soon, but in the meantime, here's a look at the rules for the new units:
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<b>CONTRACTOR DEFENDERS</b><br/><br/>
<b>FACTION:</b>Epirian Foundation<br/>
<b>UNIT TYPE:</b>Core Unit<br/>
<b>POINTS:</b>6 pts<br/><br/>
<b>Full Unit Profile:</b><br/><br/>
<b>Contractor</b>:MV 7, EVS 4, SKL 3, AV 3, MAS 2, FOR 1, WP 2, Type: Infantry (Human)
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<b>Contractor Team Leader</b>:MV 7, EVS 4, SKL 3, AV 3, MAS 2, FOR 1, WP 3, Type: Infantry (Human, Squad Leader)
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<b>Contractor Drone</b>:MV 7, EVS 4, SKL 3, AV 3, MAS 2, FOR 1, WP 1, Type: Infantry (Robot, Slaved)
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<b>UNIT SIZE:</b> 1 Contractor Team Leader & 2 Contractors.<br/>
<b>EQUIPMENT:</b> Maglock Assault Rifle & Maglock Guardian Pistol.<br/>
<b>Contractor Drone:</b> 2 linked Flakk Guns.<br/>
<br/><br/>
<b>ABILITIES:</b> None.<br/><br/>
<b>OPTIONS:</b><br/>
• May add up to 2 more Contractors: +2 pts each.<br/>
• May replace up to 2 Contractors with Contractor Drone: +2 pts each.<br/>
• Up to 2 models may replace Maglock Assault Rifle with Maglock Assault Rifle & Aux Grenade Launcher (Choke & Emp Rounds): +2 pts each.<br/>
• Contractor Team Leader may replace Maglock Assault Rifle with:<br/>
- Shock Baton: +0 pts.<br/>
- Shock Maul: + 1 pt.<br/><br/>
• Contractor Drone may replace 2 linked Flakk Guns:<br/>
- 2 linked Cluster Missile Pods: +1 pt.<br/>
- 2 linked Strike Missile Pods: +1 pt.<br/>
- Maglock Chaingun: +1 pt.<br/>
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<b>Heavy Defenders:</b> A Contractor Defender unit with 2 Contractor Drones is an [Anvil] selection.
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<b>Unique Abilities:</b><br/>
None.
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<b>Unique Equipment:</b><br/>
None.
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<br/><br/>
<b>CONTRACTOR SCOUTS</b>
<br/><br/>
<b>FACTION:</b>Epirian Foundation<br/>
<b>UNIT TYPE:</b>Vanguard Unit<br/>
<b>POINTS:</b>7 pts
<br/><br/>
<b>Full Unit Profile:</b><br/><br/>
<b>Contractor</b>:MV 7, EVS 4, SKL 3, AV 3, MAS 2, FOR 1, WP 2, Type: Infantry (Human)
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<b>Contractor Team Leader</b>:MV 7, EVS 4, SKL 3, AV 3, MAS 2, FOR 1, WP 3, Type: Infantry (Human, Squad Leader)
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<b>Contractor Drone</b>:MV 7, EVS 4, SKL 3, AV 3, MAS 2, FOR 1, WP 1, Type: Infantry (Robot, Slaved)
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<b>UNIT SIZE:</b> 1 Contractor Team Leader, 1 Contractor & 1 Contractor Drone.<br/>
<b>EQUIPMENT:</b> Maglock Assault Rifle & Maglock Guardian Pistol.<br/>
<b>Contractor Drone:</b> None.<br/><br/>
<b>ABILITIES:</b> Scout.<br/>
<b>Contractor Drone:</b> Resupply Package, Scout.<br/><br/>
<b>OPTIONS:</b>
• May add up to 2 more Contractors: +2 pts each.<br/>
• Up to 2 models may replace Maglock Assault Rifle with Maglock Assault Rifle & Aux Grenade Launcher (Choke & Emp Rounds): +2 pts each.<br/>
• Contractor Team Leader may replace Maglock Assault Rifle with:<br/>
- Shock Baton: +0 pts.<br/>
- Shock Maul: + 1 pt.<br/>
• Contractor Drone may replace Resupply Package with Recon Package: +0 pts.<br/><br/>
<b>Unique Abilities:</b>
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<b>Resupply Package:</b> (squad ability) Friendly units within 6" of this unit (including itself) may re-roll one failed roll to hit during a round of shooting.
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<b>Recon Package:</b> (squad ability) All of this unit's attacks have the [b]Paint (4+)[/b] ability, not including CQ attacks.
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<b>Unique Equipment:</b>
<br/>None.
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<center><img src="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/s/u/image-epirian-contractordroneanglesb_640w.jpg" width="640" class="blogimage">
</center>
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<br/><br/>
As you can see, the Contractor Defender unit basically replaces the existing Contractor unit type, with the optional addition of one or two heavy weapon drones. Note that this includes the option to equip the drones with Strike missiles, which aren't included in this release - there will be a conversion article for this option coming very soon!
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The Scouts are the first new unit type, adding another Vanguard option to the Epirian line-up. With the new and planned units, you will soon have the ability to field an entire force of Contractors, although you can obviously still mix these new units with the existing bot units as well!
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The new Contractor Drone is available now - You can find it in the Maelstrom's Edge webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=43">here</a>!
http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-pvc-pipe-andTerrain Spotlight: PVC Pipe and PC Fan Cooling Towersinsaniak2018-08-27T17:00:00+00:002018-08-27T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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On one of my periodic rambles through the plumbing department at the local hardware store (because how else would I spend my weekends?) I came across some pipe fittings that I thought would be just perfect for some different line-of-sight-blocking terrain to break up the sea of square buildings on my urban table setup. With the addition of a couple of old computer fans and a few components from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue, I had a trio of cooling towers ready for the table.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e4dccb7e-d229-4b1f-ba15-e9bf4a58285a" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The part that I used for the main body of the tower is a 'round socket downpipe' intended for rain guttering on a house.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/7c69bea2-2bfa-48ec-97b0-59870f2eea2e" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
As the downpipe is made of PVC, and is quite shiny, I started out by giving it a light sand with some fine grade sandpaper. This provided a better surface for glue and paint to adhere to, and also allowed me to remove the embossed manufacturer logo on the side.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/b81ae070-7eb5-4fb4-b0a6-346c0501d7b7" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Cooling towers tend to be largely featureless constructions of plain concrete, but that's a bit boring for a gaming table. So I grabbed four reinforcing struts from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=8&acr=cool">Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue</a>, and chopped off the two square sections from the end, so that the remaining length would fit neatly onto the wider portion of the downpipe. Then I glued the pieces on using an 'all plastics' superglue, which is a two-part superglue that has the normal glue plus a 'primer' that goes on first to help strengthen the bond. For a more flush fit, I could have sanded down the side of the downpipe where the strut pieces would sit to form a flat strip on the curved surface, but the struts are narrow enough that the gaps that result from gluing them straight to the curved side aren't really noticeable, so I didn't bother.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/d338a5bf-b4e0-4100-baca-1b579e7b3495" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/6a28461a-0a7b-4965-b652-a67fd8351dc6" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
To add some detail to the inside of the tower, I dug out an old computer fan from my box of assorted 'probably use this for terrain one day' <s>rubbish</s> hobby material. Using a pair of heavy-duty clippers, I snipped through the struts that held the case on the outside of the fan.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/4d18204a-4f37-4b0a-a018-5a9842804f63" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
On the inside of the downpipe, there is a ridge where the thinner and thicker sections meet. I cut a piece of 2mm thick plasticard to fit neatly onto that ridge, providing a platform for the fan to sit on. I glued the plastic strip in place, but left the fan unglued for now, to make painting easier.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/fa9115d6-bc70-4c19-9364-6f9f02a0d42c" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/1c28ac8f-5e6c-42d1-b7f9-3476e363540e" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Painting went through a process that is probably familiar to anyone who has been following these articles. I started by undercoating with flat black spray.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/068dcb57-4d24-488b-bb61-8211aa93a73d" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Next I sprayed with a medium grey, and to add some texture to the flat surface added a light spray of light grey while the first coat was still wet. This creates a nice, dappled, concrete-like effect. As I only had gloss grey sprays on hand, once the grey was dry I gave the tower a generous coat of Testors spray lacquer. This both kills the gloss and protects the paint from scratching off the PVC as easily.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/5f62dd0d-d5f7-4346-ae32-a6b9915d5f62" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
Next, I gave the strut pieces a coat of Vallejo Beasty Brown...
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/534f8b0a-c530-4c5d-86ef-ec5c080cdf8f" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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...followed by a quick drybrush of P3 Pig Iron...
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/1763df77-d3b8-4267-aee7-4881dc60506c" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
...and finally a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone. While all of this was going on, I also cut a square of Masonite for a base, sprayed it grey, drybrushed with light grey and white, and added some hazard stripes that I created in Gimp and printed out. These were glued in place with PVA glue, and then weathered with a sponge and some medium grey (you can find a tutorial on sponge weathering <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-sponge-weathering">here</a>).
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/e8461d43-a7e0-4c5e-85b3-0c941f8d897e" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
<br><br>
The fan was sprayed with some Rustoleum Aged Brass, and then given a light drybrush with Pig Iron, before being glued in place inside the tower.
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<center>
<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/61cf3434-8563-4c4f-917e-469d94d8ca9f" width='700' class="blog-img">
</center>
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The tower was glued onto the base - I lightly sanded the bottom of the downpipe to remove any spray paint, and then used the 'all plastic' superglue again. Finally, some weathering was added with a large drybrush and some more Beasty Brown.
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I had bought three downpipes, but found that I only had two computer fans that matched. Rather than use a mismatching fan in the third tower, I decided to make one battle-damaged by cutting away a chunk of one side. I left a part of the fan platform to provide a place for a model to stand, and glued the pieces of the tower side inside and underneath the platform to give it some support. Obviously the tower was hit with some sort of implosion device, or a cleanup crew sorting out the damaged tower just threw all of the rubble inside to get it out of the way until the tower could be replaced.
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The three towers together, ready for gaming:
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To build your own cooling tower, you can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue, or any of the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=cool">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-karist-shadow-walkersModeling Spotlight: Karist Shadow Walkersinsaniak2018-08-20T17:00:00+00:002018-08-20T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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I'm taking a little break from new releases this week to have a look back at another of the original release units - The Karist Shadow Walker!
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Elite operatives of the Karist Enclave, Shadow Walkers are a deadly mix of assassin and intelligence operative, equipped with advanced weaponry and Angel-inspired 'Veil-suits' that allow them to teleport (or 'Rift) around the battlefield. Released as one of our first plastic kits, the Shadow Walker sprue offers all sorts of wonderful modeling possibilities, a few of which I'm going to have a look at here.
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The Shadow Walker sprue contains two different torsos (twisted in different directions from the front) and two of each arm in different poses. This allows you to create two very different, dynamically posed models from those parts. You can find the general assembly guide on the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/60/Karist%20Shadow%20Walker/">here</a>.
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Somewhere along the design process, the sprue went from being intended to create a single model to including parts for two full models with the lack of only a second head. Luckily, several other Karist kits come with extra heads, so it's not too difficult to purloin a leftover in order to build that second Walker. The right hand model below uses the bare head from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=9&acr=swalk">Karist Trooper sprue</a>, and there's another bare head available on the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=21&acr=swalk">Faction Expansion Sprue</a>.
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Alternatively, the resin <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=34&acr=swalk">Karist Heavy Weapons</a> set comes with two troopers and three heads - two helmeted, and one bare. The helmeted heads are very similar in style to the Shadow Walker's, with a couple of extra eye lenses. The model below has also been reposed slightly, with the right arm extended and filled with 'green stuff' putty, and the right shin repositioned so that his front foot matches his line of fire.
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While we're reposing our models, it is really easy to add a little more motion to the pose by cutting off the bent leg just below the knee and reattaching it at a sharper angle and off the ground, to create a 'lunging' pose. The below Shadow Walker has clearly just Rifted in and is charging into the action:
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Borrowing parts from different kits does, of course, work both ways. The Karist Praetorians below were given Shadow Walker legs to help them stand out a little from regular troopers and to create a more dynamic pose than is possible from the Trooper legs. The added loincloths are from the Faction Expansion sprue.
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As I was working through these models, I found myself wondering what it would look like if Shadow Walkers had their own specialised mini-factions. From there, I wound up with the 'Shadow Dancer', carrying a regular cybel blade on place of the usual Shadow Walker's wrist-mounted version, and with an added prehensile, mechanical topknot which, I expect, would whip around as the Dancer flips and whirls about his opponents, and shoot out toxic darts or hallucinogenic gas from the emitter on its tip. The cybel blade was taken from the faction expansion sprue, and the topknot made from a piece of guitar string and the muzzle from a Karist radwave emitter.
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By contrast, the 'Shadow Stalker' eschews close range combat where possible, opting instead to carry out his work from afar with his nox rifle. This model has an assault rifle arm taken from the new <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=42&acr=swalk">Broken Forsaken Tech Chieftain</a> model with the bayonet and muzzle removed and a silencer made from a length of plastic tube attached. The head is the bare head option from the Karist Heavy Weapons pack.
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I don't have a name for this next one yet (feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!) but how about a Shadow Walker sect that has found an alternative to teleporting? Using arcane science to fuse Angel DNA to the human form, this Shadow Walker variant is equipped with void-gel wings!
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Of course, if you're going to have bizarre sub-sects of the Karist Walker breed, it wouldn't be too surprising to have a clandestine offshoot of the regular Kaddar priesthood overseeing them. And so the Kaddar Noctis was born - like the flying Walker above, this model fuses Human and Angel DNA, with the traditional Shadow Walker cybel blade replaced with an Angel's void-gel tentacles. The legs and torso are from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=14&acr=swalk">Kaddar Nova</a> sprue, with most of the Cybel reactor removed and replaced with a modified cybel glaive head from the Faction Expansion sprue. Arms and head are from the Shadow Walker sprue, with the small tentacle parts taken from a pair of <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=12&acr=swalk">Mature Angel</a> models.
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To add some sneaky, pointed 'negotiation' to your own Karist Force, you can pick up the Shadow Walker along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=swalk">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-tutorial-templates-vending-machinesTerrain Tutorial & Templates: Vending Machinesinsaniak2018-08-13T17:00:00+00:002018-08-13T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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Someone on the Maelstrom's Edge Facebook Group page this week was looking for templates for making vending machines. While I have put together a bit of a range of assorted scatter terrain, this was something that I hadn't got around to yet, and so this seemed like a perfect excuse to have a look into it. As a result, I wound up spending a chunk of this week playing around with some cardboard and foamcore, and sketching up some panel designs in Gimp, with the end result below:
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I have put together two different designs, which you can download from the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f6215ce3-54e8-43df-b050-ce923fe6891b">here</a>. The first is a basic, square box design, while the second is a slightly more complicated build with a rounded front. The download also includes a sheet of assorted fronts for both types of machine. My original fronts were all somewhat tongue-in-cheek, because I like to amuse myself by inserting random bits of dubious humour into my gaming tables. As I realise that this isn't to everyone's taste though, I have also included a set of less silly, generic fronts. Of course, you could also just make your own, using mine as a template.
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I recommend printing the templates directly onto thin card - I used some old manilla folders cut to A4 size, which is light enough to go through most inkjet printers but solid enough when assembled to survive on the gaming table. Alternatively, you could print on paper and then glue the templates to thin card and assemble from there.
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The page with the fronts on can be printed on paper, although I recommend using a good quality printer paper as glue can bleed through and affect the colours on cheaper, thinner paper.
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<b>ASSEMBLY</b><br><br>
The square machine is extremely easy to assembly. Just cut along all of the solid lines with a sharp hobby knife, and score lightly along the dotted lines without cutting all of the way through. Then fold along the dotted lines and glue the tabs inside the resultant box. Superglue is fine for this if you are confident of getting everything lined up right, or you can use PVA glue to give yourself a little more working time. The small rectangle piece is glued inside the front, over the rectangular dispenser hole.
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Then glue the tabs on the bottom of the vending machine onto a piece of MDF or masonite, cut just a little larger than the bottom of the machine - I used some 3mm MDF left over from a building kit, cut to 35mm x 30mm. This helps to give the machine some weight, to help it stay put on the gaming table.
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It's a good idea to paint the machine at this point, and then glue on the front after cutting out the white rectangle. Then grab a control panel from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=8&acr=vend">Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue</a>, trim off the thin strips on the sides as below, and then glue in place above the dispensing slot - it's up to you whether you paint the panel before or after gluing it in place.
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The end result will look something like this:
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For the rounded front machine, you will need a little foamcore or MDF, to form the top and bottom of the machine. This avoids trying to form a curved cardboard surface using a series of little tabs to hold everything together on the curve - that's fiddly and never looks quite right.
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As with the square machine, cut out the template by cutting along the solid lines, scoring lightly on the dotted lines, and then folding. There is one dotted line that folds the opposite way to the others - this line is grey instead of black. To get this line to fold in the right place, place a ruler along the line and push from the other side to crease the card up along the ruler's edge. As with the square version, there is a small rectangle that glues inside the dispensing slot.
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The separate base template is used as a tracing guide to mark out your foamcore or MDF. You will need to mark out two of these for each machine, and then cut them out.
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Once you have cut out the base pieces, fold the machine around them without any glue to check the fit, and trim up or recut them as necessary to get a snug fit. Then glue in the bottom piece as pictured below. <b>Note:</b> If you are using foamcore, you can't use superglue on the exposed foam edges. Use PVA glue instead. It's fine to use superglue to glue the bottom flaps to the paper bottom of the foamcore, though.
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Then glue the top piece in flush with the top edge of the machine's sides, as below. As before, use PVA glue here as you're gluing to the foam.
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You can then add a wood base and control panel as for the square machine above, paint, and then add a front panel onto the curved face of the machine. The end result will look something like this:
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If you would like to have a go at building your own vending machines, the templates are <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/f6215ce3-54e8-43df-b050-ce923fe6891b">here</a>, and you can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue or any of the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=vend">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-converting-broken-chieftainsModeling Spotlight: Converting Broken Chieftainsinsaniak2018-08-06T17:00:00+00:002018-08-06T17:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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This week we released the second of our resin Forsaken Chieftain models for the Broken faction. These two models allow Chieftains to take a few extra options that weren't available from the plastic kit, and are a wonderfully characterful pair of models. However, since I find it physically painful* to assemble models the way they were intended to be built, I thought I would take this opportunity to slice a few of them into pieces and see what interesting conversion possibilities they opened up.
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*May not be an actual medical condition, but why take the chance?
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Built straight out of the package, the two models each come with a pair of weapon options. The 'regular' chieftain has a xeno spotter perched on his/her (it's deliberately ambiguous) raised right hand, and also has a two separate left forearms, one with a poisoned blade and the other with a trophy melee weapon. The 'tech' chieftain has two separate right arms, with a custom beam blastgun and a custom slug rifle.
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You can easily double-up your command options by using the leftover weapons on plastic Broken Rabble bodies. On the below models, I equipped one with the leftover slug rifle by slicing off the locator peg and gluing it on in place of a regular plastic arm. The other has the leftover trophy weapon in place of the plastic forearm, which just requires cutting the lower arm off just below the elbow and gluing the weapon arm piece in its place.
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Parts can also be mix-and-matched onto the resin Chieftain models to switch around the available options a little. On the below tech Chieftain model, I left off the resin right arm and equipped him with a plastic arm and beam pistol from the Rabble sprue, and cut off his left arm at the elbow and attached a trophy weapon from the other Chieftain model.
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On the regular Chieftain below, I replaced the right forearm with a plastic one, and added a regular blastgun from the Rabble weapon sprue. I also cut off a plastic left forearm and added a grenade.
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For a more action-posed Chieftain, I cut the legs off this one at the waist, using a razor saw. Then I glued on a pair of running legs from the Rabble sprue, added a slightly modified slug pistol hanging off the belt, and glued the xeno spotter on tilted just a little bit forwards.
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Since I now had a pair of leftover Chieftain legs, I did the obvious thing and glued them to a Karist heavy weapon trooper torso I had left over from a previous conversion. This Chieftain has the right arm with custom beam blastgun from the tech Chieftain, and a left arm and alien head from the Rabble sprue.
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Mixing things up a little more, I added a xeno spotter and trophy weapon to a Broken Sig Jammer body, to create a less ostentatious Chieftain model. A head and left hand from the Rabble sprue finished the conversion off nicely.
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And finally, a Chieftain equipped with a trophy weapon from a more civilised age, which is apparently less clumsy and random than a blaster. The laser sword is made from an overcharged powercell from the Rabble sprue, with a cut-down blade stolen from a Star Wars figurine. I also cut the left arm off, carefully cutting around the cape so that a plastic arm would fit in neatly underneath it. This Chieftain will no doubt take to the battlefield and display his displeasure at the lack of faith shown by his underlings...
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Hopefully, that's inspired you to have some fun with your own Chieftains. You can pick up the resin Chieftain models, the plastic Broken Rabble sprues, or any of the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=chief">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/new-forsaken-tech-chieftain-nowNew Forsaken Tech Chieftain now available!insaniak2018-08-02T04:05:04+00:002018-08-02T04:18:33+00:00The Forsaken are commonly dismissed as simple, degenerate pirates, but the truth is that they usually attack only out of necessity. Piracy is many times the only way their community can survive a hostile galaxy: stealing food, fuel, ammunition and anything else of value they can get their hands on. The Forsaken rarely send out their forces en masse, knowing that a single crushing defeat could mean the end of their entire tribe's existence. Instead, they strike in small patrols, typically led by a Chieftain.
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Though a Chieftain is granted his or her position of authority by The Assembly, they must first earn the respect of their fellow Forsaken to even be nominated. A Chieftain must be equal parts fighter, diplomat and cunning tactician. Knowing that their forces can never win a stand-up fight against a prepared opponent, a Chieftain leads his warriors to strike unseen from the shadows, quickly fading away before the enemy can root them out and respond in kind. Many an opposing force has underestimated the ingenuity of a Broken force led by a Chieftain, only realizing too late their folly, as improvised booby traps decimate their defensive positions and Broken secretly approach from their rear.
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The appearance of a Chieftain can vary wildly both based upon the culture of their original homeworld, but also from that of the Broken Freeport they are now a part of. Chieftains tend to have slightly nicer clothing and equipment than standard Broken rabble, and many see it as almost their duty to show that even amongst the ranks of the Broken, an individual can still rise up and carry themselves with dignity and class. When the Broken do manage to defeat an enemy officer with particularly fancy clothing or an heirloom weapon, a Chieftain will confiscate these valuable items. A Chieftain wears these purloined treasures into battle, as both a reminder of their past victory, and to display their status as an iconic Broken leader.
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This high detail monopose resin model comes with two different weapon options for the right hand - a customised slug rifle or a customised beam blastgun, and is available now from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=42&acr=fortc">here</a>! You can also find the updated rules for this model in the Force Builder section <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=3&u=12">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tactics-broken-forsaken-chieftainsTactics: Broken Forsaken Chieftainsinsaniak2018-08-02T03:42:54+00:002018-08-02T04:06:13+00:00With the release of our second Broken Chieftain model, we've also updated its unit card in our online Force Builder rules <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=3&u=12">here</a>, finally unveiling the full suite of equipment options that Broken Chieftains have available to them. This article will look to update your Chieftain knowledge, focusing on their two new upgrade options: Customized Weapons and Enhanced Cybernetics.
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<b>CUSTOMIZED WEAPONS</b>
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Though Broken Weaponsmiths work tirelessly to keep the weapons of their fighting force repaired and functioning properly, they are also constantly prodded by their Chieftain to find new avenues for how Broken weaponry can be made ever more deadly. In other words, Weaponsmiths, and Broken society in general, are obsessed with making their guns as powerful as possible, regardless of how dangerous this makes them to the wielder. While Broken weapons can never match the accuracy or reliability of the more sophisticated enemy factions they face, the Broken instead rely on a near endless supply of desperate bodies clamoring to get their hands on a customized weapon, even when it is prone to lethal malfunctions.
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Anytime Broken forces manage to steal, capture or purchase weapons off the black market, a portion of these are tithed to their Chieftain, who turns them over to their Weaponsmith in the name of 'weapons development'. The disassembling, tinkering, and soldering in a Weaponsmith's shop often continues days at a time. No method used to improve a weapon is off the table: overcharged powerpacks, larger caliber ammunition, oversized magazines, fusing multiple weapons together, etc. If it can be dreamed of, a Weaponsmith has attempted it. The more powerful the conversion, the more rare and coveted the weapon is amongst the Broken, and the more likely it will find its way into the hands of a high-ranking individual like a Chieftain, who views it both as a potent weapon and also as a way of reinforcing their status over those they command.
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Rules-wise, customized weapons are an upgrade for a Chieftain that cost 2 points, and gives them the following benefits:
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<blockquote style="border: 2px solid #666; padding: 10px; background-color: #dbdbdb; color: #000000;"><b>Customized Weapons</b><br>
All weapons this model is equipped with permanently gain +1 PEN, +1 DAM and the <b>Unstable</b> ability (if they don’t already have it). Grenades & CQ Explosives are excluded.
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As this upgrade affects any weapon a Chieftain takes (excluding grenades & CQ Explosives, of course), it gives you tremendous versatility towards deciding how you want to improve your Chieftain's shooting. For example, with weapons that provide a lot of shots but are only DAM 1, like a Slug Rifle or Chem Pistol, the Customized Weapon upgrade suddenly turns them into DAM 2 weapons. This means that every successful penetration is going to kill a standard MAS 2 infantry model outright, making these weapons now capable of mowing down enemy rank and file models. On the other hand, weapons that are already DAM 2, like a Beam Pistol or Beam Blastgun, now become DAM 3, allowing the Chieftain to become a big game hunter and seriously wound large models like Hunter Warmechs or Mature Angels. This upgrade also benefits any melee weapons the Chieftain may take, such as a Trophy Melee Weapon, Poisoned Blade and even the melee profile of the Beam Blastgun, turning the Chieftain into a formidable foe at close quarters.
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Of course, the negative aspect of using customized weapons is that the weapon also gains the Unstable ability, which means that any '1's the Chieftain rolls to hit end up putting suppression tokens onto his unit equal to the DAM of the attack. While this can certainly be annoying when it happens, it is generally a small price to pay to seriously upgrade the offensive capabilities of your Chieftain.
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<b>EXTENSIVE CYBERNETICS</b>
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While many Broken soldiers eventually have some part of their anatomy replaced with cyerbnetics (usually due to injuries they've suffered on the battlefield), some Chieftains choose to go a step beyond and command their Weaponsmith to give them extensive cybernetic limb and/or organ replacements as a means to improve their strength and durability. This is represented by the Extensive Cybernetics upgrade, which cost 2 points:
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<blockquote style="border: 2px solid #666; padding: 10px; background-color: #dbdbdb; color: #000000;"><b>Extensive Cybernetics</b><br>
This model permanently improves its MAS characteristic by +1.
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Boosting a model's MAS by +1 provides both defensive and offensive benefits. The most obvious improvement is that a MAS 3 model requires doesn't suffer an injury until at least 3 points of damage are allocated to it. For example, when a Chieftain leads a Broken Rabble squad, whenever there are only two DAM 1 penetrations remaining to be allocated (a frequent occurrence), you can now elect to put them onto the MAS 3 Chieftain, which means instead of losing a Rabble model, the unit will suffer no permanent damage! In other words, having a MAS 3 Chieftain not only means that model is more durable, but any unit the Chieftain joins effectively becomes more durable as well.
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On the offensive side, a model's MAS characteristic is utilized in close quarters fighting with a melee weapon, both to determine how many shots the melee weapon makes, but also to figure out the PEN characteristic of that weapon. A MAS 3 Chieftain gets to make 5 attacks with a melee weapon (instead of the 4 it makes when it is MAS 2) and all those attacks are made with +1 PEN. For example, a Chieftain with Extensive Cybernetics and a Trophy Melee Weapon gets to attack 5 times in close quarters fighting, with each of those shots being a quite powerful PEN 5 and DAM 2. Even crazier, if the model also has taken the Customized Weapons upgrade, they combo together and those five shots are instead PEN 6 & DAM 3! That's enough potential damage to make any foe quake at the thought of facing a Chieftain in CQ fighting.
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With these new upgrade options available, a Chieftain is easily the most customizable command model currently in the game. You can go with a super-cheap 7 point Chieftain that just has a couple of pistols, which allows you to fit more Broken units into your force, or alternatively you can take every upgrade and have a 13 point beast that has all kinds of tactical capabilities...the choice is ultimately yours!
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Ready to try out your own cybernetic Chieftain? You can pick up the new resin Chieftain models along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=chtac">here</a>.
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If you have any rules queries, tactics suggestions, or modeling progress to share, you can join in on the Comm Guild Facebook Group page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">here</a>.
http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-spotlight-cardboard-tube-storageTerrain Spotlight: Cardboard Tube Storage Tankinsaniak2018-07-30T16:00:00+00:002018-07-31T00:11:13+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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It's been a few weeks since I built any terrain and I'm starting to feel withdrawal symptoms, so this week I have busted out the foamcore and terrain sprues, raided the recycling bin, and built a quick little storage tank for my newly assembled <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-spotlight-120-point-epirian">elite Epirian SecDef units</a> to hide behind.
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The main body of the tank is made from a small Pringles can. This of course requires you to remove the Pringles from said can, which my wife was happy to take care of for me. If you don't know anyone willing to make this sacrifice for you, you could use any other appropriately-sized tube. For the tank on my <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/terrain-walkthrough-plantation-dome">plantation dome</a>, I used a metal tin. You could also use soft drink cans, cardboard postal tubes, or even roll your own out of cardboard or plastic sheet.
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I used foamcore for the end supports. For the uninitiated, foamcore (also sometimes called foamboard) is a craft board that is comprised of a thin sheet of expanded polystyrene foam sandwiched between two sheets of stiff paper or thin card. Because it's lightweight but fairly strong, it's a fantastic material for building terrain.
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I marked out the shapes that I wanted on the foamcore with a pencil, and then cut them out using a sharp hobby knife and a steel ruler.
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As I wanted a worn concrete look for the ends, I used the hobby knife to roughly shave away the edges along the top and sides, and then used fine sandpaper to smooth the cut edges of the paper down.
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For the access port on the top of the tank, I took the square hatch and corner reinforcing from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=8&acr=stank">Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue</a> and cut a piece of plasticard sheet to an appropriate size to fit them all on it with a little room to spare for visual effect.
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I then cut four strips to run around the outside of the top plate. To replicate the curve of the tank for the two strips that would run across it, I positioned the bottom of the Pringles can on the plasticard lined up with the bottom corners of the strip and traced around it with a pencil, and then cut along the resultant arc with my hobby knife. Because the bottom aluminium strip on the can is slightly larger in diameter than the actual can, this doesn't create a perfect fit, but it gets it close enough that you can sit it in place to see where it needs a little shaving with the knife to sit flush.
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The strips were glued in place with plastic cement, and when that was set I flipped the construction over and glued the terrain sprue components in place as well.
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To add a little detail to the outsides of the tank ends, I cut some sections off the long support struts on the terrain sprue, and also assembled a little computer terminal by trimming down the comm panel and cutting a piece off the end of the lintel piece.
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One end got two of the support strut pieces, and the other end another two strut pieces, the computer terminal and a small pipe fitting, all glued in place with superglue.
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I then glued the foamcore pieces onto the ends of the tube with superglue. One end of the tube is rolled cardboard, which glues just fine to the foamcore. For the tube's aliminium end, I gave the superglue a little extra help with a primer from an 'all plastics' two-part superglue.
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A little more superglue was used to stick the access port in place on top.
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The final step before painting was to paint the exposed foam on the foamcore sections with PVA glue. This protects the foam when the base coat is sprayed on, as most spraypaints will partially eat the foam. If you're painting with a brush, or with a specific foam-friendly spray, this step is unnecessary.
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I basecoated the whole tank with a Rustoleum quick-drying grey primer to get a consistent base for painting over, and then hit the tank itself with a spray of Army Painter Dragon Red.
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I could have saved some repainting here by masking off the ends to avoid overspray from the red, but it didn't really seem worth the bother. I just used a large, flat brush to add another coat of grey (in this case Vallejo Neutral Grey) over the end pieces, added some weathering to the red using a sponge and some Vallejo Heavy Charcoal (you can find my tutorial on sponge weathering <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-sponge-weathering">here</a>) and added a layer of Vallejo Beasty Brown over the terrain sprue components.
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To create a nice concrete look, I drybrushed over the end pieces with Vallejo Light Grey, and then added a highlight with a lighter drybrush of P3 Morrow White. The brown components received a heavy drybrush of Citadel Boltgun Metal (now called 'Leadbelcher', but I'm still working through a lot of old paint!)
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Next up, I gave all of the metal parts a generous wash of Army Painter Strong Tone, and put it aside to dry.
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While the wash was doing its thing, I cut an 8"x8" square of masonite, sprayed it with a coat of grey primer, and drybrushed with the Light Grey and some white. I also marked out a square in front of where the pipe fitting would sit on the end of the tank, and painted in some hazard stripes. (If you are interesed, you can find a tutorial on painting hazard stripes <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-tutorial-hazard-stripes">here</a>.) Then I glued the tank in place using some superglue on the bottoms of the end pieces (this was fine as I had included the underside edges when I painted the exposed foam with PVA glue. Don't put superglue directly onto expanded polystyene - it doesn't end well) and added some patches of drybrushed Beasty Brown to dirty everything up. Which left the tank looking like this:
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To build your own storage tank, you can pick up the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue, or any of the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=stank">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/painting-spotlight-120-point-epirianPainting Spotlight: 120-point Epirian SecDef Forceinsaniak2018-07-24T11:49:22+00:002018-07-24T11:49:22+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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Last week, I built a 120-point force using the fantastic new Epirian SecDef models. If you missed it, you can find the article here: <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-120-point-epirian">http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-120-point-epirian</a>.
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This week, my aim was to get this force painted up to a basic tabletop standard. This can be helpful for getting past the 'sea of grey' stage and allowing you to field a painted army faster than might happen if you're painting each unit up to a fully detailed level, or if you just want a quick and easy paintjob on your army and aren't interested in getting bogged down in detail work. The end result isn't going to win any painting awards, but looks fine on the table and can be updated later.
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So, the painted force:
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For painting up armies quickly I tend to rely heavily on ink washes, as they are so handy for adding shading quickly (if sometimes a little messier than doing it by a more manual and time-consuming method would allow for). This force was no exception to that. I started with a basecoat of Army Painter Army Green spray, and when that was dry added a wash of Army Painter Military Shader.
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When the wash was dry, I went over the armour plates with Army Painter Ash Grey, the exo-skeleton sections in Vallejo Basalt Grey and the weapons on Vallejo Heavy Charcoal, before adding a layer of Army Painter Dark Tone over these areas with a detail brush. Any slight spillover onto the green is fairly unnoticeable, but excess wash was quickly removed with a wet brush where necessary.
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On the Ash Grey armour plates, rather than covering them completely with the wash, I just painted a thin coat of the wash onto the lower surfaces of the plates, or on the innermost half of the thigh plates.
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I then painted the face and neck with Citadel Tallarn Flesh, chosen by virtue of being the first flesh tone I came across in my paint box. I also painted the flesh tone over the goggles, to provide a nice base layer for the red that would come later. The pouches, straps, rifle stocks and boots were painted with Vallejo Heavy Brown and then the flesh and brown parts were washed with Army Painter Strong Tone.
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Finally (for now) I painted the base with Vallejo Neutral Grey and the goggle lenses with Army Painter Pure Red. The helmet chinstrap had originally been painted in the Heavy Brown, but after the wash I found that the tone was too similar to the flesh colour, so I went over the brown with black, and also used a black fineliner pen to darken the lower frame of the goggles, around the bottom of the lenses and up the nose. I also used the Neutral Grey to add a quick drybrush over the black on the weapons to pick out the detail - I wanted them dark, but to still be recogniseable on the table.
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At this point, all of the main colours are in place and they're ready for the table. To finish them off later, I can add a highlight to the green with some light green, some light brown or bone on the brown parts, and add some shading and a reflective spot on the goggle lenses, which gets something that looks more like this:
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I will also need to go through and drybrush the bases and add some detail so that they match my other urban bases.
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So, the 'finished' units:
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<b>Lieutenant</b>
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<b>Tactical Teams</b>
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<b>Snipers</b>
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<b>Annihilator Teams</b>
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<b>Recon Walker</b>
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The gang all together:
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To start assembling your own SecDef force, you can pick up the Secdef sprue, or any of the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=secsf">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-120-point-epirianModeling Spotlight: 120-point Epirian SecDef Forceinsaniak2018-07-16T16:00:00+00:002018-07-16T20:42:18+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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With this week's article, I'm continuing the SecDef love because, well, they're awesome!
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As nice as it is to include some elite supertroops in amongst the Epirian bots and contractors, I thought it would be fun to build an entire SecDef force. Obviously, with only a single Hammer option currently in the official rules, this required a bit of creativity, but two mocked-up new unit cards and a bunch of sprues later, my first 120 points were assembled and ready for painting.
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To build even a bare-bones force within the army selection rules for Maelstrom's Edge, a Command unit is required. While there will no-doubt be a SecDef officer option released down the track, I'm far too impatient to wait for that, so I ran up an unofficial unit card for a lower-level officer, a Lieutenant, to command smaller SecDef strike forces. The aim was to create a commander on about the same level as the Journeyman Bot Handler, and one that could be built from existing parts with minimal conversion required. So I took a bare bones SecDef trooper built from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=41&acr=secsf">sprue</a>, on the assumption that SecDef field officers would likely look little different to their troops, and just swapped his rifle for a pair of pistols taken from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=15&acr=secsf">Contractor sprue</a>.
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To allow for a viable force, the Lieutenant has the 'SecDef Commander' rule, which allows him to take up to two SecDef Tactical Teams as Core choices instead of in their usual Hammer slots. In the interests of fielding as many big guns as possible (because the SecDef heavy weapons look cool) I choose to give each of the Core teams two LM14 Machine Guns, and added two extra warm bodies to each to bring them up to full strength.
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The models throughout the force are assembled largely straight off the sprue with minimal conversion. I switched around some of the leg pairs (as explained in last week's <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-epirian-secdef">Modeling Spotlight</a>) and changed around the left hands on the unit Sergeants to add some variety to their poses without having them all holding their rifles twp-handed like their troops, to help them stand out a little.
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With the two available Core options filled, I decided to include a sniper unit in the Hammer slot (because why wouldn't you?). To keep them extra sneaky and to stay within my chosen 120 points, I went with the base unit of three, and gave the two troopers each a sniper rifle.
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There was clearly not enough firepower on the table here yet, which called for some Chainguns! Rather than fill up my last remaining Hammer slot for the detachment, I made use of the Tactical Team rule that causes teams equipped with two CG100 Chainguns to become Anvil selections, and built up two five-man units accordingly.
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To round out the detachment, I liked the idea of a SecDef force having access to a light vehicle that would serve as an advance scout, and potentially as a beacon to guide in teams arriving by Aerial Insertion. After some searching online, I found the Heron Light Battlewalker, a resin kit from <a href="https://hexy-shop.com/shop/miniatures/sci-fi-miniatures/heron-light-battlewalker/">Hexy-Shop</a>. This is a small walker with an enclosed cockpit but a detailed interior, which allowed me to cut away the roof and part of the sides to create an open cockpit.
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I replaced the Heron's original weapons with a pair of CG100 Chainguns glued together side-by-side, and added a driver by cutting up a pair of SecDef legs, re-assembling them in place in the seat and then filling in the resulting gaps with 'green stuff' putty.
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There were no controls in the Heron's cockpit other than a screen down between the driver's feet, so I added a control loom made from a leftover resin piece and the pistol grip from a SecDef assault rifle. I also added some roll bars on the sides of the cockpit (these pieces normally go on the platform on the rear of the Heron), but these are only sticky-tacked in place so I can take them off for painting - this should make it easier to get into the nooks and crannies in the cockpit.
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The final touch was to shorten the legs slightly, as the Heron turned out to be a bit taller than I had expected and wanted it to be. This was done by cutting out the lowest section of the legs and reattaching the legs to the ankle ball-joint.
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All up, with an 11-point Lieutenant and 12-point walker, the above force comes in at 119 points - perfect for getting started, and ready to be taken as a detachment in a larger Epirian force or fleshed out later if and when more SecDef units are added to the roster. If you would like to build something similar, you can find the unit cards for the Lieutenant and the walker in the Force Builder section of the Maelstrom's Edge website <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=1">here</a>.
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Next week - Painting!
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To start assembling your own SecDef force, you can pick up the Secdef sprue, or any of the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, from the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=secsf">here</a>.
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As always, feel free to pop along and share your work, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
<br><br>
For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/modeling-spotlight-epirian-secdefModeling Spotlight: Epirian Secdef insaniak2018-07-09T16:00:00+00:002018-07-09T16:00:00+00:00<img src="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/mediaresource/25ed977f-a2cf-4baa-9fdf-c15be50ee0a1" align="left"> - by Iain Wilson
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Last week saw the release of the awesome new plastic Secdef to bolster the Epirian battleline with some elite military muscle. If you missed it, you can see the release article here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/maelstromsedge/posts/2244261785589396">https://www.facebook.com/maelstromsedge/posts/2244261785589396</a>, and you can also find an assembly guide here: <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/assembly-guide-epirian-secdef">http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/assembly-guide-epirian-secdef</a>.
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This week, I'd like to go through some quick and easy modeling ideas to tweak your models. Novice modelers, fear not - nothing here requires extensive conversion experience or special tools!
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To (ahem) kick things off, you may have noticed in the assembly guide that the sprue comes with 3 sets of legs - one in a walking pose, and two slightly different standing poses.
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The left and right legs from each pair have matching locator pins to help them go together neatly, and these are different sizes for each pair to help you keep them sorted during assembly. You can easily mix-and-match the pairs to create some variation in the posing, though - the smaller pins will fit into the larger locator slots, and for pairings where the locator pins don't fit in you can just cut them off with a sharp hobby knife and glue the hips together without them.
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One of the ongoing design goals for the Maelstrom's Edge range has been for the various kits to be compatible wherever possible to enable parts swaps. This is particularly useful for increasing the pool of available heads for any unit, and the open-hand design that has been adopted for weapon arms likewise adds extra options for switching gear around. On the below models, some slightly more hi-tech than usual <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=15&acr=secsl">Contractors</a> have been made by using Contractor heads and weapons on the Secdef bodies.
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You can also use heads from the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=30&acr=secsl">Broken Infantry sprue</a> to add unhelmeted human heads or aliens to your Secdef's ranks.
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For an enclosed helmet option, you can use a spare head from the Epirian <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=16&acr=secsl">Bot Handler sprue</a>.
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The left arm on the above model has also been modified, removing the pointing hand at the wrist and replacing it with one of the open-palm left hands that normally hold the Secdef heavy guns. The heavy weapon arms are also useful for putting on Sergeants to show tactical hand signals.
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Secdef troopers are equipped with a G20 pistol along with their assault rifles, although this isn't included on the sprue. As with other pistol and grenade options that come as standard on various units, there's no specific need, rules-wise, to show these. If you do want to show the pistol, though, the G20 is a variant of the standard Epirian Guardian pistol, so you can use the pistols included on the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=15&acr=secsl">Contractor sprue</a> to represent them, as has been done on the 'Lieutenant' model below.
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(Lieutenants aren't an official unit option currently, although a HQ unit for the Secdef is in the pipeline. I'll be working up an unofficial rules card for this guy to go in the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/forcelist.jsp?f=1">Online Force Builder</a> for those who might want to try out an all-Secdef force.)
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Finally for this week - While the designs are slightly different, the strength-boosting exoskeleton makes Secdef legs similar enough to the legs of the <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?p=39&acr=secsl">Master Bot Handler</a> that you can make a walking Master Handler by simply swapping in the Secdef legs for the normal Master Handler legs, as below. I couldn't resist also taking the opportunity to replace this Master Handler's usual weapons with a modified pair of CG100 Chainguns taken from the Secdef sprue.
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What have you done with your Secdef troopers? We would love to see your creations on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaelstromsEdge/">Comm Guild Facebook page</a>!
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To pick up the Secdef sprue, or any of the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range, visit the webstore <a href="https://www.maelstromsedge.com/medge/store.jsp?acr=secsl">here</a>.
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For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the article roundup <a href="http://www.thecommguild.com/roller/thecommguild/entry/tutorial-and-spotlight-article-roundup">here</a>.